Black Rose
by DamonSalvatoreLuver
Summary: Alex lost her parents in a tragic shooting, and now moves to Mystic Falls with her older brother Spencer. There she meets a sexy stranger named Damon who falls for her and tries to help her figure out the death of her parents. STORY BETTER THAN SUMMARY!
1. Chapter 1

~"No! You cannot make me move! Why are we moving anyway?" I shouted, stomping my foot. I was watching my older brother, Spencer, pack his super-model posters from his walls. I knew that one day my life would turn to dust. I had first lost my parents, and now I lived with my older, hot-head of a brother. He looked like me; sort of. My eyes were the same shade of blue, midnight blue, and his fine hair was a more milky golden blond than my dark chocolate brown hair. But his personality was the polar opposite of mine. I was shy, gentle, and kinda intelligent if you consider being and expert in mostly science and history at my school. Spencer was sociable, harsh, mostly with me, and stupider than a sack of dirty diapers since he never went to college. I used to admire his style, but then I became more accustomed to just wearing tight jeans and Abercrombie and Fitch sweatshirts with ballet flats and no make-up.

Spencer groaned, like he always did when I was around nosing his business, and slammed his suitcase lid down. "Alex, if you ask me one more time, I will strangle you," he threatened. Spencer used to be my most trusted friend and family member. But the recent loss of our parents turned him bitter and hard to be near. "You know the exact reason why we're moving to Mystic Falls."

I stared open-mouthed. "Because of your damn girlfriend? I told you she was a prostitute!" I shouted at him. I didn't care if he strangled me; it would've been better than to move to "Mystic Falls" or wherever the hell that was. At least I would have been with Mom and Dad.

Spencer spun around to glare at me with fierce eyes. "Alex, I'm not going to say it again! Now go finish packing! We need to get gas before I can drive. I know that you want to finish school here, but we can't afford to live here anymore. Now scoot. You're standing on my Charger's rug." I pouted, let tears escape my eyes, and stomped out of his room to my small cubicle for a room across the tiny hallway in our small apartment.

I always loved California. The beach...the hot guys...the nice people...I would miss it all. I used to go to the park every weekend with my friends and have so much fun. My mom and dad used to take me and Spencer to the mall and let me shop and Spencer flirt with every girl he saw. Mom and Dad would cook us wonderful meals and teach us the most important aspects of life, like how to avoid sex and practice abstinence until you're ready for it, and never talk to strangers. They even taught me how to drive my Dad's big Toyota Ram, though now it was currently Spencer's since he was twenty five years old.

But both of my parents died in a horrible shooting at a local Food For Less; they were the first targets for the culprits. Two bullets in my mom's head, and three in my dad's chest. The doctor's were too late to save them when they brought them into the medical center.

Now, three months into my senior year, my brother thinks it's time I started life else where, which was impossible. I wanted to finish school here, my home, but I Spencer gave me three days left of school to say good-bye to my whole bevvy of friends. Especially Paris, whom I've loved as a best friend since sixth grade.

Our dog, Loud Mouth the collie, was curled up in a ball at the foot of my former mattress, snoring quietly. Loud Mouth jerked up an ear when I threw my clothes into a suitcase without care. He perked his head up and woofed softly at me. Scratching the mongrel behind the ears, I threw any other knick-knacks I had almost missed, like my Twilight books and action-figure statuettes of the old Teen Titans show. I took down my posters of hot vampire guys, like Edward, Carlisle and Emmett Cullen(yes; I even liked the doc in the movie. Hey, he was hot as a blond!) and rolled them up neatly.

Loud Mouth jumped off my bed, stretching her long limbs, and yawned. I popped a dog biscuit into her open mouth I produced from my pocket, and chuckled when she gagged on the biscuit and tried to playfully nip my leg.

"Alex! Hurry up!" Spencer shouted through my old bedroom door. He was all ready, three suitcases and four small bags behind him. I shot him a look, and joined him at the big blue Ram outside in the parking lot ten minutes later. He had a cigarette sticking out between his teeth, and he puffed out a big cloud of smoke before saying, "Ready?"

"Yup. Ready to ruin my life," I confirmed, climbing into the passenger's seat. "What's so special about Mystic Falls anyway?"

Spencer stamped out the butt of his cigarette with the big toe of his shoe. "I know someone named Zach Salvatore and he offered us a place to stay for cheap there, and it was the only place I could find a suitable job," he replied, climbing into the cab. He rolled the big truck from the curb, and sped down the streets onto the highway.

"What would that be? A McDonald's clerk?" I laughed at his dark stare. "I knew it."

"No. I'm a bartender at a grill, and it pays good so we can save up and get ourselves a house." He turned on the radio to drown out my talking.

"How about some college tuition money?" I muttered in a low voice. But I knew that arguing with my older brother wasn't going to help matters at all. Might as well get the hell over it and start wondering who Zach Salvatore was.

**A/N:Hey!! Plz R/R!! And tell me what you think so far!!**

**~DamonSalvatoreLuver**


	2. Chapter 2

~"The Timberwolves? What the hell is that supposed to be?" I snorted, chuckling at the high school in front of me. The Mystic Falls High School stood in big red bricks and black tiling for the roofs, and huge banners hung in every corner of the gym building. Teenagers of all ages stood around, waiting for school to begin. I wasn't going in today because I had just arrived at Mystic Falls with my older brother Spencer, but I was starting the Monday after this weekend-it was Friday-so me and Spencer could get used to the town's sites and hang out spots. Loud Mouth stuck his head out my open window and barked loudly at the school kids, causing a lot of heads to turn and stare. I ducked my dog's head back in the car and scolded him for barking. Hence the reason we call him "Loud Mouth."

Spencer groaned at my comment on the school's rough stature. "Alex, will you ever stop complaining?" he asked, looking at me with harsh blue eyes.

I smiled sarcastically. "Nope," I promised, and turned back to my IPod my parents had gotten me two years ago.

About ten minutes later, Spencer pulled the big Ram up next to an aging building that looked ready to collapse. It was as old as the Civil War, with an old fashion touch of iron trimming along the rim of the roof and no modern doorbell or doorknob. However the building being so old, the bricks were refurbished and bright with color, and the white trimming along the edges were fresh with paint. Spender got out. I stayed in the cab, playing Solitaire on my IPod, not really wanting to introduce myself since I was a bit shy.

Spencer grinned at the two people on the front steps, waving in greeting. I raised an eyebrow. They were cute; actually, the lad behind the man was more like gorgeous than just cute. The man was obviously Zach, and his muddy brown eyes sparkled with greeting as he and Spencer hugged and greeted each other warmly. Zach was tall and broad, with light brown hair all messy and disheveled, and his chin was brushed with a slight five o clock shadow.

"Spencer," Zach said. "I've been worried about you. Thought the highway was going to be too much for you, old buddy."

Spencer laughed a throaty chuckle. "Nah. It's just my sister will never stop complaining, and I had to pull over and shake her before she finally shut up." Spencer turned to look at me, and I gave him my middle finger from the car window.

Zach chuckled. Then turned to the young lad behind him. He was sculpture's-dream gorgeous, like the lad was made for modeling into a bust because of his unbelievable chin and cheekbones. His hair stuck up in wavy spikes, and his eyes were an astonishing shade of hazelnut with a splash of green. He looked buff, even under the sweatshirt he wore. All in all, he was _beautiful._ I had no idea I was staring open-mouthed until my dog was licking my face with his purple tongue.

"This is my nephew, Stefan. He will be glad to take Alex to school anytime she wants. He goes to the same school as Alex, as well," Zach introduced. Stefan stepped forward to shake hands with Spencer.

"It's nice to meet you, Spencer," he said. Then, turning to me, he shouted, "Nice to meet you, Alex!"

Instead of answering, I smiled. "I won Solitaire! WooHoo!" I cheered , throwing up my arms. "Yay! Hey, Spencer! Can we get Starbucks to celebrate?" I was being so sarcastic and devilish that Spencer had to count to ten before composing himself. I laughed at him, and he swore at me with a text he sent me through a disposable phone he bought me.

"Please excuse my sister," he said to Zach. "She can be quite a hot head sometimes. But she can be nice, on some occasions." I stuck my tongue out at the back of his head. Stefan smiled, and made his way to he truck. I looked skeptical as he removed my luggage from the truck's bed. I sighed, and jumped out to help. Spencer would have yelled at me if I hadn't, and I didn't want to embarrass this gorgeous Stefan.

"So," Stefan began. He placed my Black suitcase on the ground, then reached for another suitcase. "Excited for Monday?"

I gave him a look. "How did you know about that?" I asked stupidly. Great, now a cute guy like him was going to start making me talk stupid. And I was so smart in science and history...

Stefan grinned wider. "Spencer, and Zach while they registered you. But don't feel embarrassed. If you need anything, just let me know, okay?"

I could get used to his mellowness. I smiled myself, and stuck out my hand. "You got it," I said. Stefan shook my hand.

~I had gotten a room all to myself, and I loved it. It had an old fashioned charm about it, like the ancient canopy bed and the old dresser and vanity table. And it was bigger than my last room. I plunked my bags down on my bed with Stefan's help, and after a quick chat about school, he left me alone. But I was in no mood to stay in one place for long. So I got up, and flung open my window. The sun was bright and warm, with a gentle breeze blowing my hair back. I smiled at the feeling and turned around to get my Twilight book.

But something black stopped me. I face-planted into a broad chest, and a small, "Mmphf" escaped my lips. When I had collided into the person, I smelled something warm and delicious, and I looked up, expecting to see Stefan pr Spencer wearing some cheap girl-attracting perfume. Or maybe it was even Zach. but when my eyes made contact with the pair slightly above my head, it was none of the above. It was someone else.


	3. Chapter 3

~I was speechless. The new person was a guy, obviously, but...wow. It should have been illegal to be that gorgeous. He even smelled good. He was taller than Stefan, but not as tall as Zach. His black hair was wild like whips around his brows and at the nape of his long neck. His chin was more square than Stefan's, with some good-looking cheekbones. His eyes were a light shade of sky blue, and his lips were sensuous and wicked. I alos glimpsed his body before I had looked up. He appeared as buff as Stefan, and that chest was nicely pumped and broad. His stomach suggested a six-pack, which always made me drool over any guy.

When I had crashed into him, making my face whip up, I realized how close he was to me, face only inches from mine. His breath smelled...different than anything from my brother. My brother was a pig at times, but he never let his breath go smelling like shit. He made it smell like mint or even bubblegum for the girls. Such a man he was, too. But this guy's breath smlled, metallic somehow. Like like blood...I blinked. What a crazy idea!

"I...I'm so sorry," I mumbled. "I didn't mean to run into you, sir." Once again, another hot guy was making me sound so stupid. I had called him, "sir." He didn't even look like a sir. He looked way too young to even be a "Mister."

He smiled. God, what a bright, white smile. I was entranced by his grin "I get called many different names. 'Damon,' 'Satan,' 'Salvatore,' 'Brother.' But it would be so impolite if I didn't ask for your name, lovely." He added a hint of Australian accent at the end for playfulness.

That actually made me blush brightly, and I looked down. "Alex," I muttered quiety. I had thought he hadn't heard ne clearly, but somehow he did.

"Alex...never thought that could fit for a girl. But somehow it fits your style," he commented, scratching his chin. "Don't worry thought, I meant that as a compliment to a lovely woman like yourself." He bent his head in a small bow, retrieved my hand and kissed the top of it. I was flattered like a delicate little princess that I wasn't.

I decided to play along, "And would a charming scoundrel like yourself please not be rude and introduce yourself or rid yourself of your prescence?" I stated, flicking my hair over my shoulder and walked out. I had never acted like this unless I was not interested in a certain guy. I left him standing there with a bit of shocked face; probably because he thought he could seduce any girl but obviously couldn't.

I found my way downstairs and was rummaging through the kitchen until the guy came back again. I sighed. "Always the ladies man, huh?" I asked him.

The guy chuckled. "I might be; but I do admire your effort for trying to rid me of my presence, your majesty. But sadly, you won't get rid of me that easy, lovely," he stated. The guy was watching me closely. Dear Lord, I wished his eyes weren't so sky blue...

"Damon, leave Alex alone." Stefan's gorgeous voice was sharp and venom-like that even Damon turned around and grinned. That grin looked dangerous. Even I flinched from the grin and I never flinched. I planned on being a coroner when I went to

"Aw, Stefan. I'm just getting to know her, is all. Don't be so stoic," the guy, Damon, answered. Damon turned back to me, bowed, and said in a prince-charming kind of voice, "Farewell, your majesty." He stood up straight, gave Stefan a strange look I couldn't see with his back to me, and left with a loud laugh.

Stefan glared at his back, and turned back to me, smiling. "I'm sorry if my brother was bugging you," he apologized, looking at me with those sexy green-hazel eyes.

I shrugged. "I've dealt with it before; it's no big deal. Thank you anyway," I said with a grin of my own.

Stefan muffled my hair and chuckled. "You're an okay kid, Alex," he said. Spencer came in then, and handed me a big McDonald's bag. I ripped it form his hands and looked inside. Oh, yeah, baby. A huge Big Mac with a large fries and large drink with a...BACON AND CHEESE QUARTER POUNDER?! It even had an apple pie in there.

"Yes! My dream has come true!" I shouted happily, throwing up my hands. Stefan laughed and Spencer snapped, "Mom and Dad never taught you an manners, did they?"

"I love you Mom and Dad!" I said sarcastically. Spencer groaned, swore at me, then stomped away. "And I thank God for giving me such a giving, caring brother like Spencer!"

"Shut up and eat your McDonald's or Ill take it from you, you little pig!" Spencer yelled back. Stefan was pressing his lips together to keep from laughing, but Damon was already cracking up in the other room loudly.

"Hey, Alex. Can I say something to you real quick?" Stefan stopped me with his voice as I was about to flounce into my room and munch on my spoils while reading Eclipse, but I whirled around and looked at him.

"Yeah, sure," I said, sitting at one of the counter stools across from him.

"Listen, I know that Damon seems like a cool guy, but he likes to...hypnotize people, especially girls, with one look of his eyes. And so if he won't leave you alone at all, then come talk to me, and I will tell him to back off. Okay?" I nodded. "Good. Thanks Alex."

I smiled, and quickly pecked his cheek and raced out of the room.

"And the Queen is exiting the room. Everyone clear the way!" Damon said, smiling broadly.

I flipped him off before shutting my door and inhaled my special lunch while reading about Jacob Black and Edward Cullen's tent fight over Bella Swan.


	4. Chapter 4

~Spencer had work today at the Mystic Grill bar, but I didn't want to be left at the boarding house with Damon because he wouldn't leave me alone. Spencer had complained that I was going to be such a problem because I whined a lot, but Stefan had no problem with keeping me company. He and some other of his friends and girlfriend were also going to the grill because they went there every Saturday, and I was hoping I'd make some new friends.

Spencer drove Stefan and myself to the grill, and me and Stefan actually got so caught up in conversation we almost didn't hear Spencer say, "We're here. And if you mess this up for me, Alex..."

"I know, I know. I'll end up with Mom and Dad wherever they are," I finished for him, jumping out of the cab and straightened out my black T-shirt covered in blue glitter. Yes; glitter. I was such a little girl sometimes instead of a senior in high school.

Spencer snorted, and readjusted his shirt. While Spencer headed for the back door, Stefan towed me to the front entrance. As he came up to the door, a pretty brunette came running up to him, throwing nimble arms around his neck and kissing him lightly on the lips.

"My Elena," Stefan cooed, cupping her cheeks in his hands. Elena was very pretty with brown eyes and brown hair. Her face was almost heart-shaped, with a tinkly little laugh and a big smile to go with it.

"I missed you, Stefan," Elena whispered. I was patient while I stood off to the side a bit, letting them have a moment of love. I guessed she was Stefan's girlfriend by the way they looked at each other. Stefan gave her one more kiss before turning to me.

"Elena Gilbert, this is Alex Hugh from San Diego, California," he introduced. Elena smiled and cmae forward. I shook hands with her warmly.

"Alex, huh? Well, honestly, I never knew a girl could have that name around here. No offense," she stated, holding up her hands in apology.

I patted her arm. "None taken, Elena. Wow, you look pretty tonight," I complimented, trying to be polite and nice. But seriously, she was _really_ pretty. I wished I looked like her so I can that pretty. Sadly, I was stuck with B-sized cups and frizzy curly hair and a face full of acne. So not attractive.

Elena blushed, and took my arm. "C'mon, come and meet Bonnie Bennett and Caroline Forbes and Matt Donovian," she said as we weaved through crowds of people inside the grill, Stefan following. The grill was stuffed with bodies and drinks, and the soft pulse of jazz music filled my ears with brass instruments and piano notes. Pool tables and dart boards crowded the game area, and I passed the bar where Spencer was working currently. It took a lot of courage to not go up there and annoy him.

"Hey guys. This is Alex from California," Elena said, waving at me. There was a short-haired blonde with curls and sapphire blue eyes. She looked like one of those bitchy girls whose only goal in life was to be the beauty queen of the world, but if she was Elena's friend, then I thought of her otherwise. She also had rosy lips and a plump figure.

The second girl was a chocolate brown-skinned girl with darker brown hair that was wild with soft curls. Her eyes were an exotic color of hazel, and her frame was slimmer than the blonde's. The guy sitting at the table was a honey blonde-brunette with dark green eyes and a football athlete's body. He looked cute, but not as cute as Stefan.

I smiled at them. "Hey, y'all. What's up?" I said.

The blonde girl smiled. "Hi. I'm Caroline," she introduced. I waved at her.

The other girl rolled her eyes then stood up to shake my hand firmly. "I'm Bonnie," she said proudly. I shook her hand. It was warm.

"And this," Caroline put in, patting the shoulder of the blonde-brunette guy next to her. "is Matt." The guy smiled and shook my hand, and I smiled back.

"Hey," I repeated. Not much to say when I felt kinda awkward when it came to meeting new people. Like I said before, I am quite shy though I don't look it. So I put on my best happy face and smiled as brightly as I could.

"So what part of California are you from?" Bonnie asked, scooting over in her seat and patting the chair next to her.

Sitting down, I blushed a little. "San Diego in Southern California," I replied. "Me and my brother are Chargers fans. Football team in San Diego. Real popular team."

"That's cool," Matt said, leaning forward. "Whose your favorite player?"

I shrugged. "Don't really know their names. I just watch the games because my brother got me addicted. But I can't ever understand football even if you paid me." They laughed at this.

"She is staying at the boarding house until her brother can find a suitable place for himself and his sister here," Stefan said, sitting next to Elena with an arm around her shoulders. "Hope they live close by. I just met her and Alex is pretty cool." He winked at me. I flushed and smirked at him.

"Really? What can you do?" Elena asked me.

I scratched my head. What was I good at? I could actually play the acoustics guitar pretty well, and some people say I can sing Rihanna fairly well. But was that worth saying? Doesn't hurt to actually try.

"My old friends say I can sing Rihanna fairly well, and my Dad taught me how to play the acoustics guitar. But other than that...I can't do much." I shrugged my shoulders.

"Rihanna? She's pretty hard to sing," Bonnie said.

"I know! So I don't see how they thought I could sing Rihanna. But my parents also said I could sing like her. I'm not too sure, though..."

"Did I miss something here? Or am I just late?"

I flinched at the voice, and smacked my head against my palms. _Dammit! Not Damon!_


	5. Chapter 5

~Damon's voice was right behind me, and the closeness of it made me jump. I spun around to look at him. I noticed how close he was to my chair.

"Damon, what are you doing here?" Stefan asked annoyed. The whole table was partially annoyed, actually.

"Is it a crime to visit the Queen of England? Not the last time I checked," Damon said, slightly amused at his brother's annoyed face.

"Wait...what?" Elena said. I waved her off and mouthed, _Inside joke._ She nodded in understanding.

Damon bowed to me, and kissed my hand. I sighed, yanking my hand away. "Don't even think about it, Satan. Now get, before I walk away instead."

Bonnie snickered, and Caroline and Matt smiled. Stefan just shook his head. I had used that phrase many times in California, but it never seemed to work on anyone. _It's the polar opposite in this town_, I realized, smirking.

Damon grinned a little and blinked. "Ouch, that really hurt me deep inside my soul. How about you and me go for a drink to calm you down?" Damon said, pretending to flinch.

"How about you go to hell and leave me alone?" I offered, ignoring him now. I examined my chewed-to-the-cuticle-nails like I was bored with him, but the heat from his body was washing over me in huge waves. Could he really be standing that close to me? I resisted to turn around and look. Too scared I was going to come face to face with something much more embarrassing than his face like last time. Like the thing in his pants...I shivered at the thought of my face nose-planted in there. I grimaced harder.

"But I've already been to hell. And the Devil would like his queen back," Damon stated. To my amazement, the table chuckled, all except for Stefan and Elena. I rolled my eyes, and, knowing he was never going to give up and leave me the fuck alone, I stood up and slapped him across the cheek. Then flicked my hair and walked to the bar, wanting to annoy my brother.

Spencer actually looked nice today than he usually did. He had shaved, which was sort of a miracle, and he wore his nice black polo shirt he hadn't worn since Mom and Dad's funeral.

As I approached the bar, Spencer's happy go lucky smile instantly dropped and he rolled his eyes in frustration. _Like sister; like brother, is what most people say,_ I thought.

"Okay, Alex. How munch money do you want for the cute guy outside to go out with you?" he asked, placing a bottle Bailey's with a shot of coffee in front of a customer.

"None. And I have been meaning to ask you, how do you know how to mix alcohol? I've never seen you work at a bar before. And it looks like you're doing one hell of a job," I added, gazing at the long row of satisfied customers chatting and laughing.

Spencer shrugged. "Got a few pointers from friends in California on how to run a bar. I actually did run one in Las Vegas once and..."

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered, waving him off. "I just want to move back, please."

Spencer was staring. "You came to the bar just to bug me about that?"

"Actually, I wanted her to go dance with me," Damon's voice said behind me. I choked on a squeal.

"Really?!" I nearly yelled. This guy never left me alone!

Spencer smiled. "Hey, Damon. Sure, Alex would love to dance." Spencer gave me a sarcastic smile, and waved at Damon to take me away.

"You prick," I spat at him. Damon gently grabbed my arm with a slight amused smile. Spencer waved at me.

"Bye bye, Alex," Spencer said, looking so thrilled. Wait until I get my hands on him and choke him so hard he won't even _feel_ it....

Damon had finally led me to the floor and took one of my hands and placed it on his shoulder. The other one was in his hand. The song was my favorite country song, "Whiskey Lullaby" by Brad Paisley. Yet, despite my love for the tune of country, I stared at Damon with daggers shooting from my eyes. I growled at him.

Damon chuckled. "Am I being too much of a gentleman for your taste?" he asked, clearly amused at my expression from him dragging me to the floor. I was such a clutz when it came to dancing; no one could ever pay me for walking out onto a dance floor and dancing in a crowd of people. I sucked at dancing. Literally. But trying to sway to the slow music with this guy who seemed to have a passion for it was just down right embarrassing.

"No. I'm just sick of you stalking me all the time," I replied. "Why won't you ever leave me alone?"

Damon laughed. "I'm just trying to impress the Queen of England."

"Will you stop calling me that already? That joke dried up ten minutes ago."

"Just trying to make you more relaxed and not so...so...tense and angry with me."

"So calling me the Queen of England makes everything better? And I hate it when I'm being followed. So you're not exception."

"Am I?"

"Damn you, Damon!"

Damon chuckled. I stayed quiet after that. Arguing never got me anywhere, though I aruged a lot wirth Spencer, so I "Hphm"-ed and shut my mouth. But my sight, touch, and smell all were working full time, and I cursed them all to Hell.

Damon was wearing all black, but his shirt was something like you wore to a date to an expensive restaraunt. I smelled something on him. Not just his breath this time, but a cologne that was actually very man-like; not like Axe, the cheap stuff, but like expensive designer's fragrance for men. I smelled the metallic hint in his breath that smelled an awful lot like blood. I ignored that. My hands on his shoulder felt the silkiness of his shirt, and they toyed with the tip of the shirt's collar, while my other hand found how warm his hand's skin was. It was _really_ warm, even for a man. He looked..._handsome_, if you wanted the truth.

I just prayed that, due to the sexiness of him, that I was _not_ going to fall in love with him. Even after my last boyfriend, I was _never_ going to fall in love again.


	6. Chapter 6

~"And so tell me why your brother is such a ladies' man?" I asked Stefan as he walked me up to my room. It was past midnight, and I was exhausted after at least three slow dances with Damon. That man was charming, but a little too hounding for my taste. I had told him that, and he stormed away in frustration after I had also made fun of him in front of Caroline and Bonnie.

Stefan cracked a smile. "Because he craves attention. But don't let it bother you. He's just interested in you. But he will leave you alone sooner or later." He rolled his eyes.

I smiled a little bit. "Yeah, but I have this strange feeling that he will never give up on me for some apparent reason."

Stefan chuckled. Then frowned, gazing flicking to the little scar on my cheek.

"How did you get that?" he asked, pointing at it.

I gingerly touched my cheek. The scar was something I was dying to get rid of, but I just didn't know how. I hated looking in the mirror nowadays. "Oh. Um...I was with my parents when they were killed. My brother was working and I went with them, and when we got to the cash register, they were both down before I could scream." The harsh memory of my parents' death in the super store made me shudder.

"Oh, Lord. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bring up the subject," Stefan hastily said.

I sadly smiled. "No, no. It's okay. I just wish that I could...you know..." I couldn't really finish. The scar on my face and the visual of my parents' getting shot was too much for me to handle. I felt tears swell up and spill over on my cheeks, and before Stefan could catch me, I wiped them away. Stefan produced a handkerchief anyway, offering it to me. I thankfully took it.

"You wish you could forget it completely," Stefan suggested for me. He wasn't smiling or trying to soothe me. I liked that about a guy; I didn't like guys who told me that everything was going to be okay. I liked guys who told the reality even if I already knew it because it told me that my imagination was real and not just my head playing tricks on me. Stefan seemed like one of those guys.

"Yeah, I guess so." I handed back his handkerchief. He smiled and shook his head.

"Kepp it. You might need it later," he said.

"Like when Damon's around and I need to stuff it in his mouth to shut him up?" I said, laughing. Stefan laughed with me.

"You just don't like me, don't you?"

"God dammit Damon! Stop scaring me like that!" I shouted. Once again, I was afraid to spin around and face plant into something that was embarrassing. I just cranked my head around and looked at Damon's amused looking face.

"But it's my job in life to scare the pants off of pretty faces like yourself," he mused, smiling.

I stood there with a stupid face on, like a gaping mouth and slouching body, and I held up a finger and said, "Excuse me a second." Then disappeared into my bedroom. I grabbed a pillow, shoved it to my face, and screamed.

Why was this handsome guy following me?! I want to go home now!

* * *

~I dreamed of my parents death that night. At first it was just a simple dream of me swimming in a pool full of Dr. Pepper, which I never got. But the fizzy pool of my favorite soft drink evaporated, and I was standing in line to pay for grocery items with my parents.

Mom was placing a huge bag of dog food on the conveyer belt, and Dad was leafing through a _People_ magazine next to the gum and candy bar stand.

"Herald," my Mom was having trouble with cans of vegetables and she was losing grip on the snow peas. "Can you please help me?"

"Of course, Maryann," he said, immediately putting the magazine down and catching the can of peas before it crashed to the carpet. I was standing near the grocery cart, both hands on the handle, pushing it back and forth out of pure boredom.

Then I realized that it was coming to the point where the shooting was going to start. The bread and vanilla ice cream was being loaded onto the belt, and when my mother was placing the celery on the belt...

"Everyone stop what your doing! Put your hands up!" The three black-clad men broke in through the front doors, and the huge van outside had a machine gun pointed straight at the cashier and his assistant. My parents were in plain view of the shooters in the van. Three citizens were already dead form the shots taken at the front doors. The shooters outside were aiming at the cash registers, and fired.

The first ten shots went straight at my parents.

_"Mommy! Daddy! Nooooooooooo!"_

My own shout woke me in cold sweat, and I bolted up in bed. The dream left me gasping and I choked on air. Stefan burst into the room right then, and I used my borrowed handkerchief to wipe away the sweat on my forehead.

"Alex, are you alright?" Stefan asked. My damn older brother was nowhere. Trust him to not come to his only sister's aid when she had a nightmare of her parents getting killed. Poor Stefan had to do it for him. What a prick my brother was.

"No," I confessed after he handed me some water from the bedside table. When did that get there? "I had a nightmare of my parents' death."


	7. Chapter 7

~"Morning, Alex," Spencer said as I walked in with a robe and fuzzy yellow slippers. Yes; fuzzy yellow slippers. Did I mention that the robe had a duck on the back?

"Whatever," I slurred, placing two waffles in the conventional oven. I tossed through the cupboards, searching for the maple syrup.

Spencer gave me a look. "What's with you?"

"Oh, like you don't know!" I snapped. I placed a hand on my hip. "Make poor Stefan come and comfort me in my hour of need while you lay in your soft bed dreaming about girls and whatever else guys dream about!" I turned the timer on the little oven and growled at him.

Spencer gave me an incredulous look. "What the fuck are you talking about?!" he shouted at me.

"Well, good morning to you, sunshine!" I yelled back. Before we both knew it, we were yelling at each other about stupid stuff until Stefan and Zach came in.

"Ummm...what's going on in here?" Zach asked.

"Spencer won't stop yelling at me!" I said with despair. Spencer's mouth flopped open.

"But she...I didn't...she started to..." Spencer babbled, then his face went angry and stubborn. He stalked away, mumbling about me being such a stuck-up teenager.

"I love you sweetie!" I yelled at him.

"Shut up and eat your breakfast before I punch your face out!" Spencer yelled at me in the other room.

I grinned at the two men in the room, and went to retrieve my waffles. Somehow, without me looking or wondering how he did it at all, Stefan had given me the bottle of maple syrup. He even gave me a plate and a glass for milk. This boy could do anything, could he?

"Thanks," I said to him. Smiling, he helped himself to some milk of his own.

"Are you sure you want to take me to school?" I asked. Stefan was being such a sweetheart, but I thought that maybe he wanted some time where he wouldn't have to take care of me.

"Of course, Alex. I don't mind," he said with one of those sweet smiles that I could have drooled over. Damn, that boy was something hot and sexy.

Zach poured some coffee, said a hearty good morning, and left us alone. I shoved a piece of waffle into my mouth smothered in syrup and butter. Stefan drank his milk slowly, watching me. I wolfed down my waffles faster than I had ever eaten my breakfast before, and I was finished way faster than I thought.

After about five minutes of chatting, me and Stefan got ready for school. I wore my favorite tight jeans and black tank top underneath a black jacket with black tennis shoes. I applied eye shadow and mascara and eye liner, and grabbed my back pack.

When I ran outside, however, Damon's blue Corvette was parked beside Spencer's big black Ram, and Damon was waiting next to his car with an amused smile on his face. Stefan was already in the back seat, arms crossed and his expression wasn't the least happy. I got the hint when Stefan shrugged and mouthed, _Sorry, Alex._

"Once again, REALLY?!" I shouted at Damon.

"Is that all you're going to say to me?" he asked, giving me an amused look.

"Maybe...if you just stop following me!" Raising my voice louder, I pushed at him, then walked past him to get in the back seat with Stefan. But Damon opened the passenger door for me, and waved me in.

"Make me," I spit at him, and clambered in next to Stefan. Damon looked hurt, but shrugged and got into the driver's side.

~"And can someone please remind the class how the American Revolution started?" Alaric Saltzman said in his teacher-ly tone. Alaric was kinda cute actually, with spiky brown hair and cystal blue eyes and a very nice polo shirt.

No one wanted to answer. "C'mon, just give a guess. Mister Donovian?" Did I mention that Matt was in the class?

I sat in the back, and surprisingly I also saw Elena and Bonnie sitting right in front of me. Stefan was also sitting in the front, looking like the good little student he probably was. Elena looked behind her and smiled at me, winking. I wiggled my eyebrows, and she giggled quietly. Bonnie passed me a note.

_How is Mystic Fall's treating you so far??_ It said. I scribbled down my answer quickly and passed it back.

_KILL ME PLZ!!! DAMON S. WONT LEAVE ME ALONE!!!_

Elena was looking curious, and when Bonnie passed her the note, she wrote down something and passed it to me.

_Why won't he leave you alone???_

I wrote my answer. _Because I think he's got a crush on me, but I don't want to be sure. Help me somehow????? Plz????_ I gave it to Elena, and she shrugged.

"Miss Bennett?" Alaric called on Bonnie. Half the class turned to her. She flushed and stumbled over her words.

"Uh...was it because they hated Europeans?" Bonnie guessed. The class snickered.

Alaric chuckled. "Not exactly. Does someone else have something to add to..."

"They revolted because the English were taxing them too much, they wanted independence for their nation, and they had a lasting constitution to follow." Every student in class turned to look at me. I flushed hotly and sank in my seat. "Hey, we all know it's true. We just forgot, that's all."

"And that is very true, Miss Hugh. And now to carry on with the study of..." Alaric continued with his lecture, and I felt pretty good about myself.

But I found something quite disturbing. A huge black bird-or was it just a fat crow?-was watching me with one black eye, and it watched me whenever I twitched. It was quite creepy as well as confusing. I tried to ignore it, but the strange feeling fo the bird watching me never went away.


	8. Chapter 8

~I ate lunch alone that day. I had the urge to shake the creepy from me as I remembered the crow hovering in the window next to my desk in History class, and I felt that I shouldn't tell Stefan or Elena or anyone else yet. Plus I wanted some alone time just to get used to the atmosphere around me. So I ate my turkey and cheese sandwich and sipped my Dr. Pepper slowly and in silence.

"And can I make the pleasure to join you, lovely?"

I turned around and stared at Damon.

"Go somewhere else Damon. I'm not in any mood to fight with you," I said flatly. I drank more Dr. Pepper and popped a Cheetoh into my mouth.

"But I'm not here to fight. I'm here to keep you company," he stated proudly, like he was some guy with too much bravado to show off to the girls.

"Ugh! Why won't you leave me alone, Damon?" I snapped. I packed my lunch and walked off towards to the school gym. Damon was right on my tail.

"Will you just talk to me normally, Alex? I'm trying to be nice to you," Damon said.

"I don't believe it," I huffed, walking faster. Damon's long stride matched my own, and he kept up with me. He almost walked faster than me.

"Maybe you should," he replied.

"I don't want to! Now go away!"

"I won't unless you just at least say hi to me."

"No!"

Damon sighed and pinned me up against the wall next to the girl's bathrooms. Oh, I was so close to safety...

"Look," he muttered, face way too close for comfort. But I loved his warmth right next to me. "I don't want to make a bad first impression on a lovely face like yourself. So will you please be nice to me for once?"

"From what I hear, I don't think of you as someone to get acquainted with," I grumbled.

"Where would you hear such stories?"

"Go ask Stefan and Elena."

That made Damon's amused face go hard and unsmiling. "What have you learned from them?" he asked coldly.

"I've learned enough," I said.

Damon and I did a Mexican Stand-Off then, staring each other down while sizing the other one up. Damon's blue eyes pierced mine, and I gave him the stink-eye with my own blue eyes. We stood like that for quite a long time until Damon unpuffed and walked off in a fury. I grinned. I loved it when I got my way sometimes. And knowing that I could get Damon off my back was a miracle actually.

I snickered at my triumph, then made my way to gym class.

* * *

~Gym was hell. They put me with Elena and a guy named Tyler Lockwood, and he was such a dickhead. He was cute, but did his parents teach him anything about respect for the opposite gender?

I had to play football with them, which wasn't really that hard since I watched the Chargers and even played football at my old school quite well for a teenage girl. But Tyler was on the school's varsity football team and he was good, but he could have let up on being such a prick to the women.

"Can this guy be anymore stupid when it comes to girls?" I asked Elena at one point.

She looked up from tying her shoes. She laughed. "Yeah; he was worse than this when it comes to my brother Jeremy," she said back.

I frowned. "What happens when he's around Jeremy?"

"He gets defensive and says that Jeremy is such a waste of space." Elena had stood up from her tying her shoes and put up her hands to catch the football Tyler was passing back and forth. He smirked, gave a sarcastic smile, and tossed it to me instead.

I caught it perfectly, with my hands in that weird triangle way when you were supposed to catch a football. I grinned, and threw it back. Tyler was beyond shocked; more like amazed that a girl could be so quick with football.

"Anyway," I continued after Tyler's attempted embarrassment for Elena. "So, why does Tyler act so weird around Jeremy again?"

Elena sighed. "Um...because there was this girl they both liked, and she chose Jeremy over Tyler, and Jeremy is like her in some ways and he was younger than the girl. Vicki Donovian was her name; Matt's sister. She lived here before she...moved away." Elena had gotten strange after that, like she was keeping something from me.

"Oh," I murmured. I tried changing the subject. "Hey, you know, Stefan looks like the kind of guy who plays football. Does he?" I asked, my attention suddenly turning to Stefan passing a ball to the gym coach.

Elena's strange mood brightened. She grinned. "Yup, he's on the football team. He's an awesome player."

"Ah," I said, wiggling my eyebrows. "So he's your favorite football player and your he's favorite party girl?"

Elena smacked my shoulder. "Shut up!" I laughed. Then I had an idea.

"Hey Stefan!" I called to him across the field. He turned to look at me with a ball in his hand, smiling and waving at me.

"Pass it here!" I shouted. I knew Tyler and Matt were watching, and I had a need to show off in front of Tyler, so when Stefan frowned but threw the ball, I ran after it and caught it in the air like I was playing like a professional player. Plus Spencer taught me how to do it before Mom and Dad died. Tyler was once again amazed, and Stefan and Matt was clapping and cheering me on.

"How can you do that?" Elena asked, bewildered.

"Spencer taught me before my parents died," I answered, throwing the ball back to Stefan. He caught it perfectly.

Gym didn't turn out to be so suck-ish after all.


	9. Chapter 9

~"That was incredible. You should thank your brother for teaching you that," Stefan was gushing in his manly way. It was now after school, and my new friends were so shocked how I knew a lot about football, the ultimate guy sport. Especially Stefan, Matt and Tyler, since all three of them were on the football team. Tyler never messed with me after that, and the coach offered me a place on any sports team that the school offered.

I blushed at the compliment. "Thanks, but I don't want to thank my brother now. He hates me, and he knows it."

"He doesn't hate you, Alex," Stefan said, nudging my arm. We were walking to Damon's car that Damon allowed Stefan to borrow.

I stared at Stefan. "Stefan, you see the way he treats me. He used to be my friend. Now he hates me more than the devil himself."

Stefan laughed. I lightly punched his arm. "Stefan, c'mon. I'm not kidding. He just hates it whenever I'm around him. I just wish that my life would be a little bit better."

"Maybe I can help. I have something for you," he said, reaching into his pocket.

"Oh, Stefan. You don't have to give anything to me," I stuttered, speechless when he pulled out a silver charm bracelet. The trinket was a silver locket with tiny roses twirling their vines around each other on the surface. The chains connecting the bracelet were thick and polished, and it threw off little rainbows in the sunlight. I smelled something from the little locket.

"Do I smell roses?" I asked as he clipped it onto my wrist.

"It's an old herb that supposed to bring good luck," he replied. The bracelet was loose but light and absolutely gorgeous.

"Thank you so much, Stefan!" I squealed, and without thinking, threw my arms around his neck in a hug. Then I flushed brightly and let go. "Sorry about that. Lost my cool there for a second."

He laughed and put an arm around my shoulders. "Just don't tell Elena, okay?" he muttered, giving me a pleading look. I pretended to zip up my lips and lock it with a key, then threw the key away. Something blue and silver caught my eye on his hand.

"What's that?" I said, pointing at his hand. He wore a silver ring with a blue stone encrusted in the set underneath a weird looking crest. I took his hand and studied it.

"It's called a lapis lazuli stone. It's been in my family for generations. Damon's got one of his own because we both are from the same family and the name 'Salvatore' is Italian. My family is part Italian. And it's the Salvatore crest," he explained. I let him have his ring back, smiled, then looked over his shoulder.

"Aw, shit. Not again," I muttered, crossing my arms. Then I knew that Stefan's borrowed car wasn't so _borrowed_anymore. Damon was leaning up against it, arms crossed. He didn't look too thrilled, either. I guess my stand-off during lunch must have ticked him off. Hehe....sucks to be him right now.

Stefan guessed what was up, and went over to talk to him in a hushed tone. I sat on the grass, just watching them have an argument over me. Damon was waving his arms around and giving nasty looks to Stefan, but Stefan fought right back with a few words himself.

It took longer than I thought, because I was staring at my new present until Stefan came over and touched my shoulder. He sighed. Aw, shit. He lost the fight.

"Damon wants to take you home, and so I'm going back to the boarding house with Elena and Caroline. Okay?" he stated. He looked defeated and apologetic.

"God dammit, Damon," I cursed. "I'm so sorry, Stefan. He's been following me around and now he's pulled you into this. Why don't I just walk back? And you can do whatever you need to do to get back home?"

"Because the boarding house is too far away for you to walk. And I would feel much better if you did this. Damon won't stop until he gets his way, and I don't want him to hurt you if you try to ignore him. So I would suggest going with him." He looked where Elena was climbing into her SUV, and Stefan waved and took off after her.

I was stuck in a rut. Sighing, wanting so badly to take a bullet to his head, I stomped up to Damon. Though he wasn't happy with me, he tried to grin. I just stood there like a bump on a log, wondering why the hell he just won't stop following me.

"Why, it's Miss Lovely. And how was your first day of school in Mystic Falls?" he asked, opening my door for me.

"Fine. Now take me home," I demanded angrily. Damon sighed in frustration.

* * *

~As soon as Damon pulled up to the big boarding house, Spencer was walking to his car.

"Wait for me!" I shouted at Spencer. He dropped his head back and rolled his eyes.

"Alex, I can't take you to the grill tonight. I need some time by myself without annoying teenagers to get in my way," he stated, getting into the car.

I stared open mouthed. "You're such a prick to me, you know that?!" I yelled at him.

"I sure am," he murmured, mostly to himself.

"Look, Spencer, don't leave me alone here." I was literally begging him to take me with him. No way was I going to be able to be one my own with Damon. Stefan was Elena on a date, and Zach was out with some friends.

"Why not?" he asked me.

"Because the oldest Salvatore-not Zach but Damon-is a stalker. He's been following me since day one. And he won't stop. And I don't want to be alone with him. Please take me, Spencer. Please."

"I can't."

"Why not?

"Because I want a break from my bratty little sister who keeps complaining that a nephew of Zach's is following you everywhere."

"But-"

"I don't want to hear it, Alex! I have to go to work!"

"Why not leave the car here and walk to the grill? What if I want the car tonight?"

"Because I'm already late and you can barely drive! I'll see you when I get home! And I'll get some Taco Bell to shut you up later!" And just like that, he revved the engine and was pulling out. I stood there, watching him with big eyes and a shocked face. I got mad. _Really_ mad. I fumed in my head, looking around and grinding my teeth together.

"Fine! Don't care about your only family! Go have fun serving drunkards their beer while I stay at home being watched by a stalker as I shower naked! How sweet of you! I'll...I'll...I'll watch YouTube videos without you!" I screamed at him. The car stopped, headlights pointed at me. "Oh, so now you're listening to me?! Are you part deaf or something?! Whatcha gonna do now, huh?! Run me over?! Is that how it is?! Now wonder Mom and Dad favored me better!" Spencer honked the horn three times, and threw up his middle finger at me.

"GO TO HELL, YOU SORRY EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN BEING!" I chucked rocks at the truck, and he zoomed out of sight before I could shout more insults at him. I was definitely going to get beaten when he got home.


	10. Chapter 10

~I watched my brother's truck disappear down the driveway, breathing heavily because of my screaming insults at him. A headache began to form in my temple, and I pressed a palm to it to soothe the pain.

"Ow," I grunted, stumbling unsteadily to the house. I went back inside, and was met with a pale hand holding some aspirin and a glass of water. I looked at Damon.

"If I take this will you leave me alone?" I asked hopefully.

"For the moment," he confirmed. I took the meds and drank every last drop of water in the glass. As I was walking, the glass slipped from my fingers, and I was braced for the impact of the glass, but Damon's white hand shot out and caught it before it could shatter to the rug running down the hallway.

"Nice reflexes," I said, walking to the kitchen. I rummaged through the fridge for a snack, and fished out a granola bar.

"It's nothing. I guess you can call it adrenaline," he replied.

I gave him a skeptical stare. "Yes, because fast reflexes and adrenaline are the exact same thing," I sneered sarcastically.

Damon huffed. "You're so mad at me, aren't you?" he concluded.

"And you just figured that out, Garbonzo?"

"Garbonzo? Another nickname? I need to put that on my list of nicknames."

"Don't forget to put 'Prick' and 'Dickhead.' Bye." I left him in the kitchen, and went to my room for a nice hot shower and my homework. I had only a little, and I could have waited until later, but it felt nice to get it done and out of the way so I could play around and snoop around the place later. After washing my body with cherry blossom wash and my hair smelled like lavender and roses, I plopped down on my bed and got started with my homework, putting in a CD into my music player. I liked my Ipod, but it was a pain to handle sometimes, and I liked to listen to full CD's.

Twenty minutes later, a soft knock at my door drew my attention from my listening to my Anberlin soundtrack in the little stereo next to me. I pushed pause, and called, "What, Damon?"

"May I come in?" his voice asked.

"Go away! I deserve my privacy from you!" I yelled back, resuming my work and soundtrack. My door opened anyway, and I flew up from my lounging position.

"What the fuck are you doing, you obnoxious bastard from hell?! Can't I get one day without you following me?!" I shouted, standing up. I placed my hands on my hips angrily.

He groaned and rolled his sky blue eyes. "You just don't like me, do you? I give you pain meds, and now you're yelling at me again," he muttered. I puffed up like a puffer fish and snorted.

"Yes, because pain meds makes me crap out sparkles and butterflies from my ass and dance around the room in a pink tutu!" I said sarcastically. Damon actually laughed at that, and he clutched his side from laughing so hard. I growled through my teeth, and, without even thinking, walked straight up to that son of a bitch and punched him square in the jaw. I had taken three years in tae kwon do when I was seven, and my Dad used to say I could punch a wrestler and break his nose because my knuckles were as hard as rocks.

Damon didn't flinch, but his face snapped to the side, and his smile vanished like dust. His laughter ceased, and the room became as quiet as a grave except for my breathing through my nose. He gingerly touched his jaw like it did hurt, and turned to me. His eyes somehow got dark like black clouds rolling over the sky in mid day. His amused expression switched to one of stone-hard anger and frustration. I backed up a step, and cringed at his look. Maybe punching him wasn't a bright idea after all.

"You really shouldn't have done that," he murmured with venom dripping in his tone. He stepped towards me, nose flaring like a wild animal who was angered. Well, Damon did have that wild feeling about him, so I guess he was part animal. But did he have to look so angry?

"Then get out," I replied shakily. I was now sorta scared of this guy's glare. Damon stepped towards me again, and for every step he took, I skittered back until he backed me into my dresser. I was cornered between my dresser and the wall, and I didn't dare push him or he would've done something that I wouldn't have liked. Oh, shit. I was in real trouble. Spencer gave pretty awful glares that made me flinch, but Damon's current gaze made me want to curl up underneath the bed and shiver with fright from his eyes.

"And if I refuse?" he said, not playing at all. Damon's long nose was touching mine, and his strange-smelling breath washed my face. I tried closing my eyes to keep his nasty stare from paralyzing me.

"Then..." Then what? Call the cops? Call Spencer? Call Stefan? Fight? Give up? Kiss him? I was out of options here.

"Then what? Get me into trouble? I'm an escape artist. So even if you called Stefan to come and free you, I would be long gone from this place," he muttered.

"Then escape out of my room. I thought of you to be more charming and a much better gentleman than this," I said. The look in his eyes made my mouth go dry and sticky, and my tongue stuck to my mouth with every word.

"Then don't punch me."

"Don't _tempt_ me to punch you, then."

"_You_ are pushing my buttons."

"Then..."

He kissed me then.


	11. Chapter 11

~Damon's lips collided with mine, his hand braided into my hair.

I felt my blood bubble and get hot underneath my lips, and I gasped under his mouth. His hand tightened on my hair, yanking me closer when I tried to pull away. Clenching my fists at my sides, I moaned angrily, trying desperately to break free and yell, but his mouth dominated mine, and his grip was like iron, so I had to stand there for what seemed like an eternity until he pulled back. As his lips went for my neck, and I squirmed and worked up the courage to push his chest hard. He pulled back to look at me.

"You son of a bitch," I hissed, and pushed him again. And again. "Get out of my room! Get out, get out, get out! Beat it!" I shoved him out of my room, slamming the door in his face. Damon's face held no expression; he just let it happen.

_I should have punched him again, but I want to keep my arm until I turn eighteen. Which is only a few weeks away..._I thought, locking my door's bolt. I ran back to my bed, and pulled a pillow over my head, thinking too hard about my old boyfriend. Wayyyyyyy too hard for my taste. I had never let anyone kiss me after my ex-boyfriend. My ex was supposed to be the one for me, but he turned out to be quite the opposite. But I still vowed to never kiss anyone ever again after my ex. It still tugged at my heart even today.

* * *

-His name was Brian Schwartz, and at first I thought he was a great guy. His hair was as golden as the sun in a wheat field, and his eyes were like the sap on a tree, amber and molten. He was an athletic football player with a great build and a great career in front of him. He was one of those guys where he was untouchable and every girl wanted him; he was Mister Perfect. But some of the girls I knew had some really bad reviews for him, and they told me not to crush on him.

Most of my friends thought he and I would make a great couple, and for a time me and him were great friends. And after three weeks of dating his old girlfriend, he got rid of her, and he asked me out at the Homecoming Dance at my school, and I even had my first kiss with him there. Brian would always buy me flowers and movies and chocolates filled with caramel filling. And even my parents approved of him with his such decency and politeness. And he always told me I was the one who he love the most, and I knew from the moment he said it that it was true.

But then, just when I thought he was the perfect one for me, my world crashed.

After about two months of dating peacefully, I started seeing less of him. I called him a lot, and mostly got his answering machine. But it still wasn't out of the ordinary yet. Then he stopped seeing me like he used to on the weekends. He said he had family issues to take care of. At first I didn't really believe him, then my friend Jenna told me she had seen him with another girl named Jennifer, the evil blond bitch who thought she ruled the school. I waved her off and said that was nothing but a lie. Jenna never said anything else after that.

But after another week, I rarely saw Brian anymore, and I was beginning to miss him. What I missed the most about him was his kisses. He always kissed softly and with gentle lips, but the kiss itself threw off sparks and flames and lots of other things. Kissing him was the best pass time ever, and I was missing it.

Suddenly, as if a miracle happened, he appeared at my doorstep. With another girl on his arm. And sure enough, it was Jennifer.

"Alex," Brian started, smirking at my confused look. "This is Jennifer. You know her, right?" He waved at Jennifer.

"Of course," I squeaked. And I felt so bad. Jenna was right about him.

"I think it's time for us to see other people, Alex. I'm not interested in you anymore. And...you make the worst girlfriend in the world." And with one smitten girl around his waist, he walked away, not once turning back.

All I felt was numb.

* * *

~I blinked, and brought myself back to the present. Damon's kiss still burned on my lips, and the way it felt made my thoughts circle back to Brian.

I did the last thing I hadn't done since Mom and Dad died.

I cried, with no particular reason why.

* * *

~I woke up the next morning in a sluggish mood that was much worse than Spencer's bad breath and hair in the morning. I was in such an awful mood I had the pressure of skipping my second day of school. But if Spencer found out, then he was going to kill me.

To make it even worse, Damon was waiting downstairs with a smug grin on his face. Ignoring him completely, I shuffled into the kitchen and made some cereal. Even after sleeping for nine hours I still felt my flesh burn where Damon's lips touched me.

Stefan and Spencer were happily chatting and smiling, and Zach was pouring a cup of coffee, so they were completely oblivious to me. AND Damon was watching me through the doorway.

I just prayed it would go away before his interest got any more intense.


	12. Chapter 12

~"And I don't know why he kissed me. But...he kissed me," I explained to Bonnie and Elena. Elena had taken me to the cute coffee shop, Audrey's Espresso, down the street from school, and she had wondered why I was acting so strange in school today. I told her everything that had happened yesterday with Damon. And even Bonnie got defensive when I said that Damon was intruding on my privacy and had kissed me.

"Oh my God, Alex. I'm so sorry. Maybe you should come over to my place later so you can take your mind off things," Elena suggested, giving Bonnie a worried look. Bonnie nodded in agreement.

I threw up a hand with frustration. "Does it matter? He can follow me wherever I am, even your place" I complained, drinking more of my caramel latte.

"It does matter, Alex," Bonnie said, leaning forward, hands folded on the iron table we all sat at. "If you're tired of your brother being an ass and Damon just won't leave you alone, then you, me, Elena, and Caroline can go to my place tonight and you can spend the night if you wish. If it's okay with Elena, of course." Bonnie looked at Elena. Elena smirked, and then nodded her approval.

"You...you guys don't mind, do you?" I asked, sipping more coffee. "I know that you guys have only known me a few days, but do you really want to..."

"Of course. So don't sweat it," Bonnie reassured, touching my hand.

Suddenly, Bonnie's face went black and staring straight at me, and her brown eyes bored into my soul. They looked straight at me, watching me and searching every corner of her mind.

"Oh my God," she whispered. "He was the one who did it."

Elena and me gave her _Wft?_ looks, and Bonnie blinked, looking around her.

"Oh, Lord. I'm so sorry. Please, excuse me. I think I need another coffee..." She hastily got up and hurried into the shop for another cup of double chocolate chip mocha frapeccino.

"Awkward," I muttered, drinking more of the delicious cold coffee.

Elena chuckled. "Yeah; she does that sometimes, but just ignore it. It's nothing, really." She pulled out her ringing cell phone, and flipped it open.

"Hey, Stefan," he said, turning the other way. Just then, across the street in a field next to an apartment building, stood Damon in a leather jacket. He was, as usual, watching me. I flushed at his charming smile at me, then turned away to Bonnie, whom sat back down with another cup of coffee. The color actually blended in with her milky skin.

"I just saw Damon, behind Elena," I stated softly as soon as Elena shut her phone. I notioned to the little field beyond the street, and both girls looked. But the smiling Damon wasn't there. "I swear to God, if he does not leave me alone, then I will find a way to get home and live there in the suburbs if I have to; just to stay away from him."

Elena grinned. "He won't bug you when you come over to my place and do lots of make-overs and manicures and pedicures. And we will all sleep in my living room if you want," she said.

Rolling my eyes, I drank even more coffee. "Only if I get to sleep on the couch," I said over the rim of my cup.

"Of course," Bonnie said.

* * *

~The sleep over was very interesting. While Caroline touched up my face, Elena doing my fingers, and Bonnie having the strength to do my smelly toe nails, I sat back and chatted happily wth them, simply loving the attention.

"So," Caroline gushed after they were done. "What do you think, Miss Hot Stuff?" She was shoving a mirror into my face, and I blinked around the eyeliner and looked carefully. My toes were painted bloody red, and my fingernails were a polished black. My eyes were glittered with sparkly green and black eyeliner. The mascara made my eyelashes really long and sexy. I loved it.

"Remind me to come to you guys whenever I go out," I commented, and they giggled.

"It's what we do," Caroline murmured, twirling a blond curl around her finger, smiling at herself.

I snorted, and stood up. "I wish I had style. All I can wear is Abercrombie and Fitch with hardly any makeup. My Mom thought I didn't even need makeup to look pretty," I said, searching my bag for my PJ'S and pillow.

There was a slight knock at the front door, and, frowning, Elena got up to open the door. But she huffed when she spied the person through the peep hole, and mouthed,_ Alex. Upstairs._ I got the hint and tip-toed upstairs to her room.

"Who is it?" I asked as she shut the window and closed the door.

"Damon," she said sighing. "And he doesn't look so happy." She sat on her bed, and motioned for me to join her. I accepted the invitation.

"Probably because Stefan told him that I am not interested in Damon and Damon just wants his lunch money back," I muttered.

Elena giggled. "Probably," she agreed. Then she got all serious.

"Hey, Alex. Can I tell you something? And you promise you won't tell anyone else? It's about Damon and Stefan," she said, tucking her thick comforter closer to herself. I grabbed a handful for myself and watched the dim light throw rainbows off my black nails.

"Well," she started. "Are you a believer in, like, vampires and werewolves and witches and stuff like that?"

I considered. I loved supernatural things like Twilight, but I've never ever thought about that I was a believer or not. "You can say I that. But I'm not that much of a believer, if you want the truth." I shrugged.

Elena took a deep breath. "Well...Damon and Stefan are..."

"Elena, Alex. Damon is demanding he see Alex. He says it's important and he won't leave until he sees her. I've tried shoving him away, but he won't budge." Caroline's sweet voice cut Elena off like knife cutting meat.


	13. Chapter 13

~I hated Damon more bitterly than before now. He wasn't only now following me around the boarding house, he was now following me to Elena's house. I was fuming. Damn Damon Salvatore to Hell!

"Alex? Are you okay?" Bonnie asked from the living room, setting up plates and drinks for dinner as I stomped downstairs and flung open the door. Damon was standing there, looking slightly frustrated. But was grinning a little.

"What happened to hanging out with me?" he asked, trying to sound hurt. I sighed, knowing that the other girls were watching, so I shoved him out the door, and shut it behind me. I stood on the chilly air, noting how it had recently rained, and I shivered when a soft wind rippled my hair. Damon shrugged off his jacket and slung it around my shoulders. I gave him an icy look, but his jacket was warm and it smelled like him, so I clung it tighter to my chest. But it was time to set my foot down.

"What do you want with me, Damon? Ever since I came here you keep on hounding me and you even kissed me yesterday. And you will not say why you keep on following me. Do want me to kiss you again, or do you want something else? Anything to get you out of my hair."

"Really? Anything?" he asked, suddenly perkier than he was two seconds ago.

"Depends on what you want me to do," I said. More cold wind caressed my cheeks, and I scratched them.

Damon was a statue, still and barely breathing, leaning down a bit to stare at my eyes closer. His blue eyes bored into mine, and I swear I thought I saw his pupils widen then shrink again. "You want me. You want to kiss me so badly that you would die if you didn't kiss me right now. And then you want me to take you back to the boarding house where it will be just you and me...in your room...undressing...warm bed sheets...."

"What the fuck are you trying to do?! Rape me?!" I shouted at him. Was this guy some sort of sex-addicted idiot? I didn't really want to know until then. All I did was push his chest, open the front door, walked in, and slammed the door in his face.

"Oh my God," I breathed.

Elena and Bonnie came in from the dining room and gushed, "What's wrong? Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine; I'm fine. I just need some soda and food and then I'll be alright, okay? He's just trying to romance me, and I don't want to be romanced because I do not like men because they are so fucking stupid," I muttered. Elena looked confused, but Bonnie and Caroline laughed.

"Very true," Bonnie said through giggles. "I have totally been there. I've dealt with stupid boys myself, so you're not alone."

"Yup, you've got a point. Now what's for dinner?" I said, rubbing my hands together. I was soooooo hungry, and from the smell of it, it smelled like pizza was somewhere in the kitchen. I _loved_ pizza; it was the most wonderful thing in the world. If pizza hadn't been invented, I would have died from the lack of crunchy cooked dough with four different cheeses, mild sauce and lots of meats.

"Pepperoni loaded with cheese," Caroline said, confirming my thoughts. She grabbed two thick, cheesy slices and scooped some vanilla with chocolate ice cream into a bowl. I helped myself to pizza and ice cream, sitting next to Caroline in the living room.

* * *

~"Dear Lord, but I'm full," I huffed after four slices of pizza and three huge bowls of ice cream. I belched. "Sorry about that. I've never eaten that much before."

"That means you've had fun and you enjoyed the action movies and all the food," Bonnie added, shoving her fifth bowl of ice cream into her mouth.

"I just hope there's enough for Jeremy," Elena finished. She wiped her mouth clean with a napkin. It had been four hours since my really bizarre encounter with Damon, and me, Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline were pigging out on pizza and ice cream while watching action movie after action movie. We all sat on the couch, napkins and pizza scattered everywhere.

"I never knew that Mystic Falls girls can party and eat like that," I said, mostly to myself.

Bonnie laughed. "Why? Do California girls do nothing but girly stuff you can't take?" she asked over Caroline's head.

I grinned. "Yeah; they always want to go shopping and talk about boys and I don't like to do that. I like to play some football with my brother, and I play with my collie, Loud Mouth. None of the girls I knew were interested with playing with a tomboy of a girl."

"Thank God you're with us, then," Elena added. We all laughed. I yawned, stretching my arms.

"What time is it?" I asked, looking at my scrubby watch. I answered my own question with a gasp. "Two in the morning?! Holy shit, dude."

They giggled. "Let's get the sleeping bags out and sleep until morning," Elena said.

We all slipped on PJ's, and snuggled up in our sleeping bags. I laid next to Bonnie and Elena, and Caroline switched off the lights in the house.

"Hey, guys," I murmured, staring up at the ceiling.

"Yeah?" they all answered at once.

"Thanks for giving me and awesome sleep over."

"No problem, Alex," Bonnie replied.

"Any time," Caroline answered.

"We're always happy to have you, Alex," Elena said.

"Goodnight!" I muttered.

"Night!" the others chorused.

I fell asleep instantly, not really knowing whom was outside watching me.


	14. Chapter 14

~I dreamed about Damon that night. It was something odd, too. I never would have thought that the one guy I was trying to avoid was now haunting my dreams.

I was running, down some sort of street, and I was crying. I had no idea why, and I wanted to stop, but my dream had taken over my body in this dream. I was scared. I never stopped running, picking up speed as I heard faint footsteps behind me. I dared a look behind me. A dark shadow followed me swiftly,, with longer strides than mine. I squealed, and kept running. I sharply turned one corner and skidded to a stop when a fence blocked my chance of escape. It cleared my head by two feet, but I was able to reach up and grab one of the fence's boards and haul myself over.

Until a cold hand reached out and gripped my ankle, and yanked me back to the ground. I shouted in pain, and I blinked through tears to see whom had caught me.

It was Damon. But his face was all wrong. His eyes were red, vivid veins showing underneath his eyes. And fangs were hanging from his gums inside his mouth. His blue eyes were glued to me. No. They weren't glued to me. They were glued to my neck.

"Say goodnight," Damon's smooth voice purred. And his mouth lunged forward to my neck. I screamed at the pain, and my virtual scream woke me in the real world.

I was sweating inside my sleeping bag, and I was sitting straight up. My breathing was a bit rough, and I swiped off some sweat and quietly unzipped my bag and got out of my sleeping bag for a glass of ice cold water from the kitchen.

That's when I had this strange sensation of being watched. I stopped in mid step.

The strange feeling washed over me like a wave of sea water, and it made the hair on my arms and neck stand on end. I stood completely still, listening. But the only sound was the other girls' slight snoring. I tried to shrug off the feeling and make my way to the kitchen.

Something cool caressed my neck. I spun around. Nothing there but an empty hallway. The air around me got old, though, and I half-ran to the kitchen for my glass of water. After half-filling the glass and chugging it down in one gulp, I took my time to get back to my warm sleeping bag.

Suddenly, something cool grabbed my arm, and whipped me around. I face-planted into something black, and my body was pressed right up against it, bearing my neck fully. I squirmed in the iron grip. But two hands locked my arms at my sides, making it impossible to escape the grip. I tried to scream, but one of the hand's clasped over my mouth, blocking off my air supply.

Something sharp and painful pierced my neck, breaking a small artery in my neck. My body became numb after that. As my brain blanked, my knees buckled sharply, my squirming stilled, and I fainted.

* * *

~My head was on fire when I woke up again. My neck was also hurting, and my hand flew up to rub it. A warm hand caught my own, stopping me from soothing my neck pain.

"Easy, Alex. Just take it easy." Bonnie's voice was smooth and gentle, but I could easily hear the worried tone in her voice.

"Wh...what happened to...m...me?" I stuttered. My voice and throat was hurting and sore, like sandpaper was scratching my vocals. My blurry eyes re-focused again, and I looked at my surroundings. Elena, Bonnie, Caroline, Stefan, and even Spencer was standing around Elena's bed on which I was lying on. Bonnie was dabbing my neck with a wet swab, and Stefan was hovering over my face with an extremely worried expression. And for the first time in a very long time, Spencer was looking scared shit less at me.

"Caroline got up at about three this morning for some water, and found you on the floor, your neck bleeding badly, and you looked so pale that she called Stefan and Spencer for some help," Elena explained.

"Alex? Are you okay?" Stefan asked, pushing hair out of my eyes. I blinked again. My vision was still a bit foggy, but at least I could see better than I had tow minutes ago.

"I...I...don't know. Everything is all fuzzy to me," I admitted, sitting up slowly. Shockingly, Spencer came forward and gave me a glass of water. Spencer hadn't done that for a very long time, I couldn't even remember the last time he smiled at me. I did remember when he was there when I woke from a bad dream, but that was the old days.

"Can you at least try and remember what happened?" Spencer asked calmly.

My mind was _really_ fuzzy. I couldn't even remember what happened before Caroline found me on the floor, neck spurting out ounce after ounce of blood. but my head began to clear up a little. "Um...I had gotten up to get some water, but I felt like I was being followed. And when I was going back to bed, I...I...oh, I can't remember." I tried stumbling out of bed, but Stefan pushed me back down and covered me with a blanket.

"Alex, did you see the face of the guy who did this to you?" Stefan asked. He sounded angry now, almost furious. I nearly flinched at his tone.

"I'm afraid not," I remembered. "All I remembered was that I saw something that was black, and my vision was blurred after that." And before I could ask where he was going, Stefan left with a strange expression on his face.

**A/N:Hey people!! I am so happy that all of you are asking questions. And I will be happy to answer any questions that seem to have popped into your head. So please don't be afraid to ask anything you want about this story.**

**I will also answer this one question that ~Tala-Paige~ has asked me about which actors will best portray Alex and Spencer. And no I will not use Jerry Trainor(Spencer Shay) from iCarly although he will probably be a good choice!!(lol)**

**-Alex Hugh-Qorianka Kilcher  
-Spencer Hugh-Matt Damon**

**Not very good choices for actors, but I did not want to choose Miley Cyrus or Demi Lovato or Kristen Stewart for Alex, and my actors list for Spencer is quite limited. So if u have any options for the two actors, then feel free to tell me!! :)**


	15. Chapter 15

~Damon was lounging on the couch in the boarding house, drinking his regular shot of scotch while reading and laughing at the newspaper when Stefan was suddenly standing as still as a statue in the doorway of the parlor. Damon looked up from the paper, and grinned like a satisfied Cheshire cat.

"I hope poor little Alex is alright, because I heard..."

"It doesn't matter what you _heard_, Damon," Stefan interrupted. "It's what you _did._ Why did you attack Alex?" Stefan took two steps towards his brother and stared at him straight in the eye.

Damon smiled, and set the paper down on the coffee table in front of him. "And what makes you think that I did it to her? I wasn't even at Elena's last night," Damon implied, folding both of his hands behind his head. But Stefan ran up to him with his vampire speed, jerked Damon up by his shirt front with both hands, and slammed him up against the closest wall.

"You bastard," he hissed in a calm manner. "I can't believe you attacked her in Elena's house. How could you do that to someone like her? You promised me at the school you wouldn't ever hurt her."

"But I didn't, brother. Now get your hands off me," Damon snarled, baring sharp teeth and red eyes. "Didn't father ever teach you manners about how to treat your siblings?"

"I could say the same thing to you, brother. Now tell me why you attacked Alex. Don't lie to me either, Damon."

"Once again, I wasn't even at Elena's last night. So don't put this one on me."

Both brothers glared at each other, squaring the other one off with blue eyes against green-hazelnut eyes. Finally, after angry sparks and flames were thrown between the brothers, Stefan let Damon go. Damon grabbed his jacket and walked out the door without another word.

* * *

~Bonnie and Spencer were fighting over if I should go with Spencer back to the boarding house or if I should have stayed at Elena's house. I simply laid in Elena's comfortable bed-spread and dozed off and on. Caroline and Elena gave me some pain meds for my neck and head, and Spencer ordered me to just stay in bed and relax for a while while he debated with Bonnie.

Then, when I was having my third nap that day, Elena and Bonnie were yelling at someone downstairs, but I knew they lost the fight because Damon made his way upstairs and came into the room quietly and roused me gently by shaking my arm.

"What the hell do you want now?" I muttered. I curled up under the blankets and snuggled my face closer to the pillow.

"Just wanted to make sure you were okay," he said. His jacket, which I had handed back to him last night when he had bothered me, was laid across my body as he sat down next to me on the bed. He stroked my face, but I sprang up and gave him a cold stare.

"Okay, Damon. I am putting my foot down. You need to tell me why you are following me. I don't care if you are wanting me for money, or if something else is on your mind. But you need to tell me now and today why you just won't leave me alone."

Damon just stared at me with those sky blue eyes.

* * *

~"Spencer, please let her stay here just for another night," Bonnie begged. Spencer and Bonnie were arguing quietly about what they should do with Alex. Bonnie felt that Alex was unsafe with Damon at the boarding house, but the attack at Elena's house was disturbing Spencer very badly.

"Not a chance, Bonnie. I know that I have treated my sister very badly, but I feel a lot more safer if she was back at the boarding house. I don't care if Damon is there. I don't want my sister to experience anything like that again," Spencer countered, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Spencer, please! Let her stay here for one more night. I promise I will get Stefan to stay here and help keep watch, and maybe you can stay here, too, Spencer. But me, Elena and even Caroline do not want Damon around her at all. So please let her stay here for one more night. Please?"

Spencer sighed. "Once again, Bonnie. I'm not going let her stay here where the dude already attacked her and now you want her to stay here? What if the guy comes back? I don't want her to got through that anymore. I am taking her home."

Just then, Elena came in, and, hearing the last words that Spencer was saying, she frowned. "But why take her home when Damon will be follwing her everywhere? She is sick of Damon stalking her. Just let her stay one more night. Please, Spencer."

"God dammit! I said no way!" Spencer exploded at her. He huffed out a huge breath, and sighed. "Look, I'm sorry for choosing this, but I just can't have her stay here. I will take her home. And if it makes you feel any better, you guys can come spend the night in her room so you can keep an eye on her."

Caroline came gliding into the room, and she had caught Spencer's last words just like Elena had. "Spencer, please. Let her stay one more night. You can stay here and watch over her if you want, but it's better than watching her at the boarding house where Damon will be hounding her all over the place."

Spencer knew he was outnumbered by the girls, and after a few more begs and pleas from them, he reluctantly agreed to let her stay one more night only if he got to stay as well just to watch over her.

"Fine," they all agreed.

* * *

~"Dammit, Damon! Answer me! What do you want from me?" I shouted at him. He had been sitting there, stone still, eyes fixed on me. "Damon!"

"I am in love with you," he said finally, as if he was desperate for me to know. My whole world changed.


	16. Chapter 16

~My head spun. My breath caught. My heart began to race. Love me? How can someone so handsome and charming like him be interested in me? I was a simple senior in high school with frizzy hair and acne. How can someone as the total opposite of me, like Damon, be so in love with me?

"Y...you're in l...love with me?" I squeaked. Brian had once said he was in love with me, but he was just faking it. Somehow, though, I trusted Damon for his word. Sorta.

"Yes. I am in love with you, Alex Hugh. And I am not afraid to say it to the world if I have to," Damon stated proudly.

Then he kissed me gently. His lips weren't as hard as the last time where he held me against my will. They moved like whispers with my mouth.

To be honest, I have only kissed Brian like this only twice. Other times I lightly kissed his lips, like a family kiss. The two times I did kiss Brian was actually pretty strange. Way too much tongue for my taste. I actually had to push him away so I wouldn't taste that slimy tongue anymore.

But Damon's lips...they were gentle and smooth, and they tasted like him._ So sweet and soft..._

Then came that metallic taste that was on his breath. I pulled away. He seemed confused as I looked at him.

"I don't think I am ready to have another boyfriend, Damon. This is going too fast for me. I need some sleep at least..." I mumbled. And let my head fall back to the pillow.

"Don't fall to sleep, Alex. I need to tell you something that you have to know," Damon said, shaking me hard enough to make me open my eyes again.

"What is it?" I asked, sitting up.

"It's about me and Stefan, and it's important that you know because it could save your life one day. I think..." He looked thoughtful.

I actually chuckled at that. "I'm sure I can keep up," I promised. I guess Damon's second kiss didn't make me hate him so much anymore. I actually found him slightly funny.

Damon licked his lips. "Ah..well, me and Stefan are..."

"Hey, Alex! You get to stay here another night!" Bonnie's voice sounded from the doorway. Me and Damon groaned.

"Wait...why?" I asked curiously.

"Because Spencer and the others want you to be away from...him." She grimaced and waved at Damon. Damon smirked at her, and turned back to me.

"Is that what you want, Alex? To stay here so that guy can get to you again?" Damon asked me. He pushed strands of frizzy hair out of my eyes and tucked it behind my ear.

"As long as Elena and Bonnie and Caroline know what their doing, then I guess I have no choice," I said, yawning. "Now let me catch a few Z's so I can rest my brain..." I collapsed into the pillow, and was fast asleep before even two minutes passed.

* * *

~I woke up in the middle of the night again. I didn't dream this time, but a small bump in the night made me rouse from my sleep. Elena was such a sweetheart that she slept with me in her bed, and Spencer's loud snoring came from the floor next to me. I looked around, but the small little bump made me just jumpy. So I went back to sleep.

A dark shadow glided across the hallway outside the bedroom door. I froze underneath the blankets. My instincts told me to get out of bed and go into the foyer downstairs. I gingerly pushed back the sheets and got out, trying not to make the boards creak. I tip-toed out the door, and looked down the banister on the stairs.

"Is someone there?" I quietly called, knowing Stefan, Bonnie and Caroline were sleeping downstairs in the living room.

The same shadow I saw in the bedroom now made it's way to the kitchen, and I descended the stairs quietly. Chills ran up my back, and the feeling of being watched cloaked me. I started to shake very violently, my head beginning to swarm and fog up.

My bare feet were soft and quiet on the hard floorboards in the hallway, and not one board creaked under my soles. My body felt robotic as I walked down the hall. A cold wind touched the back of my neck, and I whipped around. Nothing there but an empty hallway.

"Alone again, little sweets?"

That voice...it was slightly familiar. And it was filled with a tone that reminded me of poisoned sugar. Sweet, but venomous. I spun around again. Two iron hands gripped my arms, pinning them to my sides. And my body was jerked up against something hot and hard. It exposed my neck, and my pulse began to beat rapidly.

"It sucks to love, little sweets," the voice said in my ear. I shivered in hsi grip.

Yet, I was knocked to the floor by another unseen force of hands. My body slammed to the ground with a huge force, head first, and I felt a warm spot on my head. I cried out, and I knew I somehow woke up the people in the living room. My vision was so blurry I couldn't see past my nose. A strange ringing on my ears blocked out my hearing.

I felt a soft pair of hands yank me up onto my feet and drag me off somewhere else. I faintly heard fighting grunts and noises, and voices trying to get me away from the noise. Everything happened so fast.

My vision cleared a little, and I saw the last thing I expected out of Damon and his opponent.


	17. Chapter 17

~Damon had fangs and red eyes. Damon's handsome face was one of a vampire's. His snarl and growls gave him away from human. Then, what Elena and Damon were trying to tell me before, clicked in my head. Stefan and Damon were vampires. But they weren't the only ones. The other guy looked way too familiar, and he was a vampire as well.

It was Brian.

I screamed at Damon's demonic face, and Brian was lunging at Damon with all his might, which made me scream again. Brian, my ex-boyfriend whom I haven't seen for a whole year, had fangs himself and his eyes were as red as blood, and he was snapping his teeth at Damon. Stefan even joined the fight, a pair of his own fangs bared and sharp.

I had recognized Brian because of his hair and the old sweetheart name he used to give me. That hair was a rare color, with glossy highlights the color of the sun. And he loved to call me, "Little Sweets," a lot because I adored candy, particularly Jolly Ranchers, and my breath would smell like sweet fruit because of me eating them nearly every day.

But Brian wasn't the handsome Prince Charming at that moment, watching him quarrel with Damon and Stefan. I just swayed in my place on the floor next to the front door, and my head got really fuzzy. I watched with a dazed horror as Damon's fangs tore open throats and squirted blood in all directions. Some of it got into my face, and I screeched a soundless scream.

"GET HER OUT OF HERE!" Damon shouted at Spencer. Spencer was trying to find out what to do, but he obeyed Damon and gripped me under the arms.

"No! Don't kill him! Please don't kill him!" I screamed to no one in particular. I felt tears sting my eyes.

"Alex, c'mon! Damon and Stefan will be fine!" Spencer yelled in my ear.

"No! Don't kill him! Please!" I kept screaming. It felt like my parents' death all over again. It was shocking, confusing, and way too fast to handle. I scrambled to Damon. All of a sudden, I wanted him. He was something totally different from Brian. Damon was annoying and stupid at times, but he was charming and treated girls respectfully. I didn't care if he was a vampire. But if I lost him or Stefan or even Spencer, then I would live with no reason to live. I would be a walking zombie with a dead family. I was starting to really like Damon, and Stefan was like a second brother to me.

"Please! Don't kill him! I beg you, please!" Everything was blank after that.

* * *

~"Hey, guys. She's coming around," I faintly heard Damon say. I took the time to open my eyes slowly, and Damon and Stefan's faces were the first faces I saw.

"What...?" I gasped, and sat up so fast I was dizzy. My pain-filled head swam, and I swayed in my bed. I was laying in my own bed at the boarding house, and the covers were tucked up to my chin. Damon softly pushed me back down, and ticked me in again.

"Take it easy, Alex. You need to sleep. You've been through a lot," Stefan murmured. He patted my hand.

"How can I sleep?!" I shouted. I prayed to God that I was dreaming and that I did not see Brian at Elena's house, trying to kill Damon with his bare hands. "I saw my ex trying to kill you both! He tried to kill me and you guys! How can I sleep with..."

"Ssh, Alex, ssh. Calm yourself," Damon soothed. Spencer was behind him, holding some asprin and a glass of water. But my head was so dizzy. Brian was supposed to be in California, flirting with every girl he saw and be human. But he was here, in Mystic Falls, as a vampire. And he tried to kill me. But why? I exploded in their faces.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP! DO NOT TELL ME TO CALM MYSELF BECAUSE I HAVE NO REASON TO BE CALM!" I screamed, climbing out of bed. Damon and Stefan jerked me back onto the bed, pinning me down. I fought back. But both vampires were strong and forceful, and I had to go limp and try so hard not to cry.

Spencer sat on the bed next to me, rubbing my back. "It's okay, Alex. We will all leave you alone so you can sleep." He got up to leave, and the Salvatore brothers already were out of the room, but I started to hyperventilate.

"No. No, no, no, no. No, Spencer. Please; don't leave me! Don't leave me alone! Please don't!" I said hysterically, grappling for his hand. Spencer turned around, confused, and caught me as I fell towards him.

"Spencer, please," I begged on my knees, arms locked around his shins. "I don't want to be left alone. I'm afraid I'll see Brian again, and I don't want to see him again. I beg you, Spencer! Don't leave your only family to suffer!" I wept hard after that.

"Oh, Alex. Jesus Christ..." he cursed. it wasn't at me it was at himself. Then I remembered that he had to go to work at the bar. I wanted him to keep his job, so begging wasn't going to be any answer in this situation anymore.

Spencer sighed in deep frustration, and gently hauled my shaking body back to the bed, and tucked me in tighter under the blankets. I shivered and clung to me.

"I'm so sorry, Alex. But I can't stay. I have to go to work. I will make up for it, I promise. But I have to go to work." He kissed my forehead, stroked my cheek, and walked out of my room, leaving me weeping softly.


	18. Chapter 18

~I woke up painfully the next morning. My head was throbbing, and my muscles were very sore. Even my eyeballs stung from so much crying, and I rubbed them gently. I spied a glass of water for my scratchy throat, and I gulped it down in one chug, popping the pain pill next to the glass into my mouth. I felt the pill act up immediately.

Slipping out of bed, I padded across the floor into my bathroom and realized my eyes were red and bruised. I frowned, and scrubbed my face with a washcloth and a bit of face lotion. Then I went downstairs.

Spencer was sitting on the couch, talking to Stefan, and they both looked up at me when I appeared.

"Alex, how are you feeling?" Spencer asked, getting up to hug me. He smelled good; he smelled like musky forest, which I loved the most about him.

"How do you think she feels?" a fresh voice said beside me. Damon placed a hand on my shoulder. "The poor thing has dealt with being attacked, and she saw us going all vampire. Plus, she might ask for an explanation later. So get ready!" he said, grinning. I pinched his side. He didn't even flinch, and I pinch quite hard.

Suddenly, last night and the night before came crawling back into my head, and my eyes got big. "Wait...Brian is a v...va...v..."

"A vampire?" Damon said for me. I gulped and nodded. "Yes, he is. Brian has just come to town and when he found out you wer here, he got Elena to let him in her house somehow." Damon poured a shot of scotch for himself, then sat down. He motioned for me to join him, but I stayed where I was. I had the biggest crush on him, but I was still very aware that he was a vampire under all that sexiness. So I stayed safe in the hallway near the stairs so I could run before the vampires could catch me.

"Let himself in? Like invited himself in?" I asked.

"A vampire can only come into a mortals house if the mortal invites the vampire in," Stefan explained as Damon drank his scotch. Spencer was also listening, but he was enjoying the conversation. I felt like my knees were rubber and I was going to faint. No way could vampires exist. Hell, I thought I was dreaming until I pinched myself secretly behind my back to make sure I wasn't really in a dream.

"That sounds weird, but okay," I replied, trying to keep my vocals from shaking. I had this sudden urge to run upstairs and hide. _My brain must be playing tricks on me,_ I thought to myself. No way could vampires exist. But I saw fangs in the mouths of both Stefan and Damon. Fangs! A pair of sharp teeth inside their gums, that was as razor sharp as a knife.

"Well, it's the vampire life," Damon said, getting up for more scotch. "Can't really do anything but bite pretty girls and wait around for something exciting to come around."

"That's _your_ idea of life, Damon," Stefan mumbled.

Spencer got up and stretched his limbs. "Well, I have to go to town and do a few things, so I'll be back later," he stated, walking up the stairs. I hastily followed him.

"Spencer, take me with you," I said a little too quickly.

Spencer stopped outside his door, lolling his head back and sighing. "Alex, please..."

"Spencer, do not leave me alone in a house with vampires! I am too scared to be here right now! Hell, I am too damn scared to be anywhere around here right now!" I screeched quietly.

Spencer looked like he was going to throw a tantrum like a kid whom was denied entrance to an amusement park. "Oh, c'mon, Alex. I haven't been out by myself in a while. Can you handle them for one day? For me?"

I could not believe my ears. Spencer was there for me last night, now he was going to leave me in a house where blood-sucking vampires were stalking every corner of the house. I might as well kill myself first before talking to one of those two. Spencer was selfish and harsh with me for no reason. Well, no point in arguing. I was going to lose anyway.

I felt tears sting my eyes as I made my way to my room. Being precautionary, I shut my window and drew the curtains. I locked my door after shutting it, and cried my eyes out on my bed. My headache, which I wanted to get rid of, was now there.

It had been twenty minutes later when I heard the door knock.

"Go away," I yelled a croak.

"Alex? Is there something you want to say?" Stefan's voice sounded gently through the door.

"No! I just want to be left alone! Now beat it!" I shouted at him through tears. Silence after that. My weeping became tiring after a while, and I fell alseep.

* * *

~I slept all day long, and I busied myself with Twilight books in between naps. I was starving, but I would have risked it instead of being downstairs.

I laid on my bed, hands locked behind my head. I replayed all that had happened, and the reality set it slowly. Damon ans Stefan Salvatore were vampires. And that meant my crush was on an old guy that was dead as hell, with so many years of no aging, and that meant if I would have sex with him, I would never had known until now that he was like dead meat.

Ew.


	19. Chapter 19

~I peeked out of the my room's door, sneaking a look this way and that. I had surrendered to knowing that the Salvatore brothers were vampires, but I would not lock myself inside a room with a locked door and closed window. Besides, I was starving. I hadn't even eaten breakfast.

Breathing a sigh of relief when no one was in sight of my door, I snuck out and shut the door. I smiled in triumph as I turned...

...and ran smack into Damon. I froze. Oh, fuck. _Not again. God, please smite me down before I have to even smell him. I am afraid he will smell like he had just taken a blood bath,_I prayed to God silently. Gratefully, I had gotten a strong whiff of him. he smelled mouth-watering, even for a blood drinker.

"You know," I heard him say. "You are not very good at being sneaky. I think you need to learn a thing or two from the master." I had a vague idea he was talking about himself. Typical for Damon.

I slowly looked up. He wore a nice body-hugging long sleeved shirt with jeans that hugged his waist. And that shirt went so well with his eyes.... "Who said I was trying to be sneaky?" I asked, hoping I sounded as casual as I intended to.

"Well, the way you were trying to get to the kitchen without me or Stefan watching you, it's...quite obvious you're trying to be sneaky," he pointed out, grinning.

"And since I have been caught, there is no point int trying to be a ninja anymore, so thank you and good-bye." I walked around him. But, like lightening, he was standing in front of me again. I jumped, nearly screamed, and tried running. He caught my arm and pinned me to the wall.

"You still love me, Alex. I know you do," he whispered to me. I sniffed his breath. It smelled the same, as always. I saw the eye-thing again, where his pupils shrunk and widened again. It scared the living daylights out of me.

"Um...Damon? If this is some sort of vampire trick you're trying to use on me, it's not working," I murmured, wriggling in his grasp.

Damon stared at me for a few more seconds, then ran down the stairs with that unbelievable speed of his.

The next thing I heard was questions and a few threats from Damon. I tip-toed down the stairs. I had caught on to a conversation between Stefan and Damon, and it sounded like it was something about vervain...

"...put vervain in her bracelet? Don't trust me with a goreous girl like Alex?" Damon hissed. Aparently, vervain affected vampires.

Stefan sighed. "Damon, you know as well as I do that you are a sucker for a girl like her, and all you want from her is blood, to use her. I am not going to let you hurt her in anyway. And it helps both of us from getting to her. So just leave her alone, Damon. We have already damaged her enough." With those last words, Stefan stepped out of the parlor. Damon was left standing there, a bit frozen. But he turned to me when I entered. I saw how his eyes were kind of angry, and I stepped back a pace.

"Don't worry," he soothed, turning his full attention to me. "I won't try and bite you or anything."

"That makes me feel so much better, Damon," I said. The fluttery feeling in my gut was there as he stared at me. I clenched my fists into my stomach to get rid of it. It wouldn't go away, though.

"I'm telling the truth; ironically enough, I don't want to bite you." Damon poured another glass of scotch-the man loved that scotch-and sat on the couch. He shot me a smile and patted the cushion next to me. I hesitated. Damon chuckled. "Alex, you need to trust me. So relax and come sit next to your boyfriend."

I stared. "Boyfriend? I only kissed you twice, and the first time doesn't even count. So don't think you can just call me your girlfriend just because you kissed me, buddy."

His eyes were locked on mine, provoking me to join him. I reluctantly did, sitting on the other side of the couch away from him. Damon used his vampire speed to stand up and suddenly his body heat was right next to me. He threw an arm around me, the other tipping the glass of scotch to his mouth. I tried squirming away from him, but his arm pinned me to the couch.

"Damon, why are you even in love with me? I'm so average and geeky it's impossible," I started, trying to come up with some sort of conversation.

Damon gazed at me. "Because you're one of the first girls who can actually resist me, other than Elena, and not just because of the vervain in the bracelet." He gestured to the bracelet that still hung around my wrist. "And, I think I have some information that might actually help you out with something that you have probably been wondering since the tragic accident."

I looked at him. "I don't think I have ever told you about my parents' death. How the fuck did you know about that?" I asked, standing up. Damon was cool and relaxed; I was too stressed and tense to care anymore. Out of everything I had known since I saw Damon and Stefan's fangs, I thought that Damon's knowing about my parents' death was the strangest thing I had ever heard.

But Damon's next words shot through me like bullets from a gun. "I think I know the person who killed your parents."


	20. Chapter 20

~My ears were ringing; my body was frozen; my hands were shaking.

"You...think you know who killed...my parents?" I croaked at Damon. Damon nodded, drinking his scotch slowly. I watched him numbly.

"But...it was more than one person who killed my parents," I explained, sitting back down. He looked at me.

"I know. but Brian said something about one person who organized the killing. Do you think that a group a people would attack a random superstore for nothing?" Damon asked. He got up for one more shot of his liquor.

"Well, no....but a planned attack? Is that even possible?" I asked as he sat down. This time he knocked back all his drink, and leaned back, watching me from the sides of his eyes.

"It is possible." He tenderly grabbed my hand and massaged circles into the top of my hand. His hand was smooth and so, so warm. His fingers brushed my knuckles and the veins under my skin. I shied away from it for a moment, but the warmth was welcoming and nowhere close to being as cold as I thought vampires skin was supposed to feel like. "But I doubt it, to be honest. Brian must be playing with my head."

"Oh, am I?"

The voice was new and full of poisoned sweetness. Damon jumped up from the couch, taking me with him. He faced Brian fully, and kept me behind him, arms protective around me. I locked my arms around his waist, scared of running or screaming.

Brian laughed. That laugh was once soft and like booming bronze bells, now it was different. It was too loud and too evil to be true. I peeked around Brian's shoulder. His hair was darker than I remembered. _Looks like he colored it again,_ I thought. I saw how his buff body stood out beneath the tight blue T-shirt. A brown leather jacket was slung over one shoulder, and he was lounging on one foot in the doorway.

And he was all vampire. When he laughed, I glimpsed fangs, and his eyes were red with big veins standing out beneath them. I quivered with fear at the sight.

"I thought I told you to stay away from her, Salvatore," Brian purred, flicking his eyes towards me. I buried my face in Damon's muscled back, shivering.

"Go away, Schwartz. You know better than to be in the same room with the same guy who nearly whooped your ass at Elena's house. And his kick-ass brother is right behind you." I looked up from Damon's back. Indeed, Stefan was behind him, ready to choke someone by the look on his face. Damon started to back me up slowly as Brian turned to Stefan.

"Damon, I'm scared," I whispered as quietly as I could. "Brian was so mean to me..." Soft tears ran down my face. I was really scared; it seemed scarier than getting cut in the face by the killers of my parents by someone kicking me in the face.

Damon turned a bit, then wrapped his arms around me, eyes still glued to Brian. "Don't be frightened, Alex. I'm here to protect you," he murmured in my ear. "I just need you to..." He whispered instructions in my ear before shoving me onto the couch, running at Brian with full speed. I bolted up from the couch and sprinted towards the stairs. I heard grappling in the parlor, but I didn't dare look behind me. My only goal was to run upstairs and get to Damon's borrowed room.

I vaguely saw someone run behind me as I sprinted up the stairs, and I faintly heard a squeal that was strangely my own. I ran harder up the steps; they seemed so long.

"C'mon now, little sweets. Don't be so afraid of me," Brian's voice shouted from somewhere near me. With fat drops watering my face, I ran like I was in a marathon, which wasn't real easy if you get my drift, especially when the vampires can run faster than you.

"Little sweets," his voice purred slowy, like he was summoning a dog or cat. My feet ate up the carpet on the second landing above the parlor.

"Come out and play with me, little sweets." His voice was too close for comfort. Hyperventilating, I scrambled with the doorknob on Damon's room. I threw it open and locked it when I shut it.

When I turned around, something warm clamped around my mouth. I screamed, then stopped when Damon's face was inches from mine. His hand dropped, wrapping me up in thsoe long arms tightly. I got hysterical, shaking and crying and breathing heavily. Vampire or not, he was still Damon Salvatore, and I needed his warmth.

"Ssh, Alex. Enough, now. Enough. It's okay; it's okay. We ran him out of the house. We're safe now, lovely. C'mon, stop crying now. Ssh, ssh." Damon picked me up like a little girl, and sat me on the bed, wrapping me up in a thick, soft blanket. He swiped hair out of my eyes, dabbing my cheek with a tissue. "Enough, Alex. We ran him out. He won't hurt you anymore."

But I wasn't listening. I had thrown myself into Damon's lap, crying softly in his chest. He sighed, and gathered me up, placing my legs in his lap. "Is he really gone?" I asked with a hoarse voice.

"Not dead. But me and Damon ran him off." Stefan's voice made me, squeal, and bury my face into Damon's chest. "Alex, where's Loud Mouth?" Stefan asked.

"He's always in Spencer's room," I answered. Stefan darted out of the room.

I was shaking so badly. Brian was not supposed to be a vampire. He was supposed to be fucking the little whore he loved when he left me. But here in Mystic Falls? Next to impossible. And why did he want to kill me anyway?


	21. Chapter 21

~I still hadn't stopped shaking since the surprise visit from Brian, and Damon ended up rocking me sweetly and slowly to get me to sleep. Stefan had found poor Loud Mouth quivering underneath Spencer's bed, and Loud Mouth charged into Damon's room and into my arms when Stefan brought him back. He whined and plastered his snout to my shoulder, licking my cool tears off my cheeks. Damon never cared for the dog to be in the room; he just sat on the bed watching me the whole time. Stefan was watching the hallway outside, sleeping softly.

"Alex," Damon whispered. "You need to get some sleep. Me and Stefan will watch you carefully over the next few days, so please just relax and fall asleep." I looked up from crying softly into Loud Mouth's furry head.

"I...don't know if I can." Loud Mouth gave me one more lick to the face, then jumped down to curl up on the two folded blankets acting as a dog bed on the floor next to the bed.

I crawled under the sheets Damon pulled back for me, and he tucked the sheets up to my chin. He pecked my forehead, patted my arm, and moved to leave the room. But I shot up from the bed and nearly choked, "Don't leave me!"

Damon stopped and stared at me. "You...don't want me to leave?" he asked, a bit shocked. I shook my head. "Alex, if Spencer found me with you in bed then he will get the wrong idea, you know."

"I don't give a shit. He can live. But I just cannot sleep alone and...oh, what am I saying?! I'm being so stupid..." Damon ran up to me in the blink if an eye, and leaned down to gaze into my eyes.

"You are not stupid, Alex. Now scoot over." He kicked off his boots, stripped off his shirt and belt, and slipped under the covers with me. Despite my need for someone else other than the dog, I flushed hotly. Damon was one of those guys who can be so soft and lovable. And he was hotter than Hell. Thank God I was wearing cotton sweats and my favorite gray shirt with half sleeves.

"Come here," he muttered, waving towards himself. Reluctantly, I crawled to him, resting my head on his shoulder, laying in the crook of his arm. Damon's hand slung around my neck, tracing circles into my back. "This a bit better?" he asked. I couldn't answer. Damon was half-naked in bed, and his torso didn't have one sprig of hair anywhere. His skin was smooth, and perfectly sculpted. It took me a long time to focus more on him then his sexy body.

I nodded, trying to close my eyes. But they didn't obey my brain's orders. "But I still need something to help me sleep," I said quietly.

"What if I used hypnosise to help?" he asked, eyes flicking to my bracelet.

"Why can't you do it right now?"

"Because the vervain in your bracelet keeps vampires from getting in your head, and that means hypnosis. If you take off your bracelet, then it would work."

"But Stefan told me to never take it off."

"Just take it off so I can put you to sleep, and while you're asleep, I'll put it back on."

"But Damon..."

"Alex, you have to put some faith into me and trust me. Okay?"

I fingered my bracelet, running my fingers along the roses on the locket charm. Since Stefan had given it to me, I had never taken it off. It felt like a piece of my heart, and when Damon's warm fingers tickled my flesh, I squeaked a little to see the bracelet fall off my wrist. Damon placed it on his stomach, and placed a finger under my chin. I started to shake a bit.

"Just relax," he murmured. Damon's lips were at my ear, and he began to whisper things into my ear, his breath tickling my hairline. I felt something like fingers touching my mind, and my eyelids became heavy. My mind began to shut down and get black. I sank into Damon's body, and before two minutes had passed, I went to sleep without a single dream passing my mind.

* * *

~Loud Mouth woke me in the morning. His long tongue licked up my cheeks, and I groaned, throwing a pillow over myself to keep him from his continuous licking. Loud Mouth barked, nudged my arm with his nose, then took off out of the room. Then the door opened a few moments later.

"Earthquake!" someone yelled, and the bed flounced upward, scaring the hell out of me. I sat up with a yelp of surprise, and Damon was staring at me with humor in his eyes. He was laughing at me.

"I love your hair," he pointed out. I sped at him, combing my hair back with my hand.

"What do you want, Damon?" I mumbled, climbing out of bed. I feel to the floor with a hard thud. Damon cracked up harder, and I got up to smack him. Instead, he pushed me back to the bed, and fell on top of me, kissing me hard. I was surprised by the move, but his warm skin and soft lisp were hard to resist. I ran my hands through his soft black hair, and Damon laced a hand with mine, palms touching.

We laid there kissing for a while before Damon got up, grinning at me. He helped me up and brushed the wrinkles out of my clothes.

"Alex." Stefan's voice was worried and frightened and weak. Those wonderful eyes were shocked and big. "It's your brother Spencer."

I snapped out of my reverie of Damon's body. He was still shirtless. "What happened?" I asked with a squeak.

"He's been attacked. He's in fatal condition at the hospital. The doctor said he may not make it. And Spencer is begging for you to come visit him."


	22. Chapter 22

~Spencer was laying so still and silent that if it wasn't for the monitoring machine thing, I would have thought we were too late. His head had stitches and purple bruises, one of his arms was broken in two places, and his leg was still bloody and mangled. I choked on air. Stefan's light shove and Damon's hand squeeze was encouraging enough to get me to go to him. I drove back tears.

"Spencer?" I whispered silently. I thought he was asleep, but his blue eyes opened slowly, watching me. He tried a weak smile.

"Alex," he greeted. He coughed, and flinched from the motion. "Not really a pretty picture, huh?"

No humor came from my mouth. "Not you too," I murmured. I remember how my parents were at the hospital in California, and how they looked so sick and tired from their injuries. They had died right in front of my eyes.

Spencer gazed back steadily. "I'm not as bad as Mom and Dad, Alex. I have internal bleeding, but they fixed it. It's just that I punctured a kidney, and my lungs are about to burst because they hurt so much." He twitched his leg to the side, and he groaned. "Ow."

"Let me help," I stuttered. But, even as I fluffed out his pillow and propped his leg up for comfort. I felt so numb with shock. _Please God,_ I thought helplessly. _Don't take my brother away because of Brian. Please let him be some family left for me to remember. Please don't take him from me._ "Better?" I asked when his leg was more comfortable for him.

"A little," he admitted. Spencer was so pale, like his skin was made of white sheets. He also looked papery and shaky. "But I wish you weren't here to see me like this, Alex."

"But you said you needed to se me first, though."

"I know." He groaned when his hand went out to clasp mine weakly. I started to cry. "Alex, please be careful out there. I got attacked in mid-day. So please take Damon or Stefan with you wherever you go. You have to trust them." I looked at the Salvatore brothers. They watched the whole scene with anxious eyes. I looked back at Spencer. "Please, Alex. For me."

I nodded and shut my eyes, gently touching his forehead with my own.

"Spencer, I'm scared. I want to go home," I croaked.

"You are home, Alex." Suddenly, Spencer clamped his eyes shut in pain, clutching his chest. "Call the nurse. My lungs are burning." I pressed the button for the nurse, and watched with a numb feeling as Spencer began to gurgle blood.

"Move, sweetheart, please," the nurse said firmly, pushing Spencer back on the bed. Spencer was coughing up bubbly blood, and I peeked behind me. Stefan had left the room, but Damon was coming towards me. I scrambled to see Spencer. Too many nurses were crowding the bed, and Spencer's continuous coughs were scarier than a vampire trying to eat me.

"Spencer!" I shouted. I pushed my way through and found Spencer's bowed brown head.

"Alex, go away," Spencer gurgled, spitting more blood.

"Spencer, please don't leave me!" I yelled in pain.

"Alex, go away now!" he told me, thrusting a hand at my stomach. I ignored it.

"No!" I cradled his head against my chest.

"Alex, there's nothing we can do. We have to go." Damon's voice persuaded me to come with him, and his hands grabbed me and hauled me away from my brother.

Outside the room, Stefan was waiting for us. I collapsed in Damon's arms, weeping so much. Why was Brian doing this? Why was Brian torturing me? So many questions; and no answers yo be found.

"Alex, want some food?" Stefan asked, leading me to a bunch of chairs. I didn't answer. A nurse from the room where they were keeping my brother pulled Damon aside and whispered something to Damon. Damon sighed deeply, and pushed a hand through his black hair. The nurse looked at my sympathetically, and retreived a blanket from the desk near her. She flung it over my shoulders, rubbing them softly.

"Do you need anything, sweetheart?" she asked gently.

"I need my brother to live," I said through tears. The nurse said nothing. She patted my arm, and walked away.

"Mother fucker!" I screamed, drawing a lot of attention. I didn't care if they told me to be quiet; I didn't care if Brian was hunting me; I didn't care if a vampire was in love with me. I just wanted my only last family to live to see me grow up more.

Stefan said something about getting me a bagel and cream cheese from the hospital cafeteria, and Damon pulled me into his arms and rocked me. "I'm so sorry, Alex," he whispered in my ear. He stroked my hair.

Stefan came back and handed me the circular piece of dough with a little packet of Philadelphia cream cheese. After getting something in my stomach, Damon and Stefan escorted me out the hospital.

"So what do we do now?" I asked sullenly. I walked between the brothers, hands stuffed in pockets, head bowed.

Stefan sighed. "I guess we have find out what Brian wants from you first, then try and stop him," he suggested.

"And wait until her dog gets killed and then get _her_ killed?" Damon snapped back. "I think we should go after him."

"We would be acting without thinking. We don't even know where he is at the moment," I added.

Damon mumbled to himself, and stayed quiet. "Anything else?" I asked.

Stefan suddenly stopped. "Wait...Alex, did you say he was from California like you?" I nodded. "I think I've seen him before. We need to get to the boarding house now."


	23. Chapter 23

~Damon raced down the streets in his car towards the boarding house. Stefan had an urgent need to get there as soon as possible, and me nor Damon had any idea why, so we didn't ask any questions about it until we got back to the boarding house.

Meanwhile, my mind went back to the hospital where Spencer was probably laying dead now. Rarely anyone coughed up that much blood and live. I sat in the backseat shaking, biting my lip to keep from crying, but tears ran down my cheeks anyway. Usually, I would have gone into a fury and go into a mental hospital because I might have just lost my brother, but there was no feeling. Just an empty gut with numb tears stinging my eyes. I began to softly weep.

I thought that neither of the brothers saw or hear me, but Damon peeked at me through the rearview mirror, said something to Stefan, and pulled over to the curb. Damon unbuckled his seat belt, and clambered into the back with me, and Stefan took Damon's former seat as the driver. It only took them a moment before we were driving again. Damon pulled my head into his lap, fingering my hair. I cried into his nice jeans, not caring if a cop pulled us over and ticketed Stefan for speeding for having a person in the car who wasn't buckled in.

Stefan pulled up tot he boarding house, and ordered Damon and me to stay in the car. Stefan got out and flitted into the house.

"What's he doing?" I asked Damon. I sat up and laid my head on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around me.

"He's checking to see if anyone or anything got in and did something stupid to the house while we were gone," he replied. He kissed my hair, snuggling my body closer to him. Curling up into a tight ball in his arms, I sniffed his warmth like I usually did. I smelled something else on him instead of that amazing-smelling cologne. It was his own body odor, but it smelled sweet because of his immortality. He was so sweet, I could have tasted it on my tongue.

"Alex, you love me, right?" Damon suddenly asked, looking at me with curious blue eyes.

I stiffened. I didn't really know if I loved Damon or not. After Brian, I had vowed to myself that I would never date again for as long as I lived. I had kissed Brian before, but it felt like I was still waiting for my first, real, passionate kiss. And I don't mean the kiss that Damon had forcefully given me when I was pissed at him nearly a week ago. I thought I did love him; then his vampire secret came out, and I didn't know how I felt then about him then. I just liked his charm and good-looks.

"I...I don't know, Damon. I honestly don't know how I feel right now. With Brian attack me, and then he attacked me again, and now with Spencer gone...I just can't say anything right now. I'm sorry, Damon, but I just can't say that I loved you right now," I mumbled into his neck. I pulled away from him and looked at him. I prayed he wouldn't be mad or frustrated with me. But they were my feelings, and I wanted him to respect them.

Damon about to open his mouth and say something, but Stefan was suddenly at the window, tapping on the glass with his finger. Damon kept an arm around my shoulders, and rolled down the window.

"Loud Mouth is okay, but he's a bit shaken. Other than that, everything is okay," he confirmed. Damon opened the door and offered a hand to me. I climbed out, and Damon swept me into his long arms. I squeaked in protest, but got over it and let him race me up to his bedroom. Stefan followed.

"I'll see you guys later," he said. "I have to go find out where I've seen this guy. Please be careful, Alex; and don't be arrogant, Damon." He gave his brother a scornful look.

Damon blinked and grinned. "But of course I'm going to be arrogant," he answered. "And Alex will be so daring and risky that I will have to tie her up before she gets herself killed." I snorted a laugh at him. Stefan sighed. Then left us alone.

That's when questions began clouding my head. Now that Spencer was gone, who was going to take care of me before I graduated? I couldn't afford college because all of our money went to moving to Mystic Falls; I had no money to inherit or borrow; I was living in a boarding house that didn't even have a television; and the only other inhabitants were two immortals and one mortal.

How was I supposed to pay for school? What was going to happen to Loud Mouth if I didn't feed him? Will I live with foster parents? Would child services take care of me? Or would Stefan, Damon and Zach take care of me? At least I would have some sort of protection, but still...

I didn't know I was crying again until Damon placed his hands on my face, rubbing my tears away. "Don't cry, Alex. It's okay. Don't cry, lovely," he whispered in my face. I placed my face in the crook of his neck, and wept some more. Damon hugged me back, kissing my hair and stroking my spine.

"What am I going to do? I don't know anyone in my family that could take care of me, and I don't have any money to even feed my dog. Oh, Damon...what's going to happen to me?" I murmured into his soft skin. His warmth was welcoming and gentle.

"I don't know, Alex. I just don't know," he replied. His vampire speed took me to the couch, and he tenderly laid me across his chest, pulling a blanket over my shoulder. Damon locked his arms around my waist, just holding me to him.

"But I need to know," I said with a tight throat. "I don't even know where I will go from here. And I don't want to be adopted, either."

"Just nap for a while, Alex. Just relax yourself." I laid there in his warm arms, thinking about how the hell I was going to move on from here.


	24. Chapter 24

~Stefan still wasn't home when I woke up at three in the afternoon. Damon had laid a blanket across my shoulders on the couch, and Loud Mouth was watching me with his intelligent brown eyes. Damon was talking with someone on his phone when I woke up, and when I stirred underneath the blankets, he looked up from the newspaper he was reading. He shut his phone and ran to me. I guess he was used to running up to me without me freaking out about him being a vampire.

"Feel okay, Alex?" he asked. He knelt down next to the couch and took my hand, smoothing out tense muscles in my hands. I noticed something pretty shocking about his body. Damon was shirtless, showing his torso and arms. My eyebrows raised a bit. I was right about his stomach; a sexy, breath-taking six-pack under a pumped, sexy chest. his broad shoulders held long muscular arms. _Holy shit!_ I thought wildly. _That is one hot and sexy vampire!_

"Find something you like?" I heard Damon say, grinning at my expression of his shirtless torso. I flushed and he roared with laughter. "How about I give you a massage to pass the time? Stefan won't be back for a while; the nerd is still looking up whatever he's looking up. I bought some food for you, and got some new clothes at a Walmart close by."

"Damon Salvatore shops at Walmart? Wow, the Don Juan of Darkness, known for expensive leather and silver boot buckles shops at a retail store with cheap cotton and crappy toiletries!" I teased, making his amused face fall. I laughed myself. Then became serious again. "Wait, when you say massage you mean like..."

"You laying on the couch under a sheet naked while I massage you with calming lavender oils. I'll even listen to Rihanna if you want," he confirmed. I flushed hotly. "Oh, c'mon, I'll be good, I promise." He flashed a sexy smile.

I eyed him, but then, at that moment, a massage felt like something that could be of use to my stressed out mind and life. I reluctantly agreed. "But where did you get the oil?" I asked him.

"From somewhere..." he muttered, smiling wider. "The oil can even get rid of frizzy hair and tangles."

Now that was persuasive. I've always hated my frizzy hair and tangles I could never brush out. "Fine."

* * *

~Damon was _so_romantic when he wanted to be. I had stripped down while he was out of the room, and wrapped my body into a soft, golden silk sheet, laying face up on the couch. Damon had dimmed the room's lights, like shutting the curtains and lighting a few candles on the tables around us; he even lit a few candles that let off scents like vanilla mixed with roses and ocean mist. For security, he locked the doors to the outside and all the windows were bolted shut so that not even breezes could escape into the boarding house. He provided a huge nachos bell grande and two soft taco supremes from Taco Bell down the street, and he even offered some imported champagne instead of Coca-Cola.

It was very impressive, especially when he was shirtless and his body was mouth-watering.

"Where the hell did you know how to do this?" I asked as he sat down the couch, shaking a little vial of lavender scented oils.

"I'm over one hundred and forty five years old, Alex. I have been places and learned tricks here and there. Being a masseuse was something I learned somewhere else in the world. Can't really remember where exactly though," he replied. He splashed some oils onto his hands and began to add a light coat of fragrance to my hair, combing it with a silver comb. After every stroke of the comb and that section of hair was smooth, he twirled the piece around his finger, held it, then let it go. "Gives a more natural curl," he explained. His hands began to rub my skin. Good God, his hands were like magic. They were strong and firm yet gentle and soft on my skin as he rubbed and massaged me, from my face to my shoulders, to my arms to my fingers.

"Damon, I need an explanation for why you love me," I said, wanting to make up some sort of conversation instead of just laying there and letting his hands rub me of my tense muscles.

"I thought we got over that a few days ago," he said with a slight icy tone. I fidgeted under his hands uncomfortably. He noted this. Those magical hands stopped their stroking. "Too much pressure?"

"No," I mumbled. I didn't want to admit that sometimes when he got angry or frustrated it scared me. I admired his humanity-if he had any-but his vampire side really frightened me. I tried changing the subject.

"So, were you and Stefan friends before you became vampires?" I asked hastily. Those hands never resumed their massaging. I opened my eyes.

"I thought you wanted me to answer your first question?" he asked, a bit confused. Then his face straightened out. "You're scared of me, aren't you?" Damon sat back on his heels, and looked at me.

"I'm not scared of you. That's a ridiculous thing to say," I lied. Oh yes; I was scared of him at times.

"Then why did your face pale when I said that we got over the love for you thing days ago?"

"Because I was thinking about something that made my face pale, that's all."

"Don't lie to me, Alex."

"I'm not!"

"Yes; you are."

I was losing the fight here. I buried my face into the couch's cuchions and began to cry.


	25. Chapter 25

~It was uncontrollable; me beginning to cry for the stupidest reasons, and in front of my sexy masseuse, too. I took control after about a minute, and I stopped. I got so angry at myself, and I growled under my breath, cursing myself to hell for being such a wimp. I was seventeen-nearly eighteen-and I was acting like a little three year old. I rubbed my eyes violently and grumbled. Damon watched with a strange look on his face. Did it look like love...?

"Ah, Jesus Christ," I muttered sitting up. "I'm such a big baby!"

But, as I sat up, Damon's lips tackled me as well as his hands on my shoulders. His lips were warm and sexy, gently moving with mine. I gave over to them immediately, running my fingers through his hair and his broad pair of shoulders, pulling him down onto the couch over me. I rubbed those muscular arms, revelling in the feel of those big biceps. He responded with gentle strokes across my bare back, and a warm tongue slid into my mouth in the most romantic way possible. I used to think french kissing was gross, but Damon, as most of you will think, made it so romantic and passionate that I didn't realize he was sliding the sheets off my body inch by devastating inch, making my skin sizzle and flame a dark hue of red.

Then with a jolt, I knew what he wanted from me. I pushed him away gently, breaking the ever-lasting kiss that made my head swim.

"Damon, wait...Not right now, please," I begged. "Okay, I admit it. Having a crush on a vampire is more than just shocking. Honestly, it's a bit terrifying, what with the fangs and red eyes and knowing you could suck my blood of you wanted to. And with my parents and Spencer being dead...and you being partially dead, I don't really think I could have sex with you right now. Not after what Brian tried to do to me. So..." I gulped. I had to get out of my mouth. "I love you, Damon Salvatore. But I don't think I can have a serious relationship right now, okay?" I reached up to brush hair out of those eyes. He caught my hand. I thought I was in trouble at first, but he just laid it back onto my body, and, as if nothing previously had happened, he resumed his massaging.

"Damon? Did I say something wrong?" I asked gently. He shook his head, but didn't say anything. I let him have his way, then. At least I got my stress out a little. Damon was strangely quiet the whole time he massaged me, but his hands felt so good I didn't really care anymore.

Damon's kiss still lingered on my lips. I gingerly touched my lips as he rubbed out tense muscles in my bare back-yes, bare; I let him pull down the sheet until it only covered my buttocks; everything else was bare skin-and I had an urge to kiss him again.

"Damon?" I asked. His hands never ceased there rubbing as he spoke.

"Yes, lovely?" he said.

"Do you think Stefan as a brother like you used to?"

Damon's hands were still then. My skin burned where his fingers were located on my bare waist, but I ignored that. Damon's hands continued to move, though a little hesitantly. "Why do you ask?" he said. His voice was a bit creepy, nearly icy with dripping venom around the edge of his tone. I shuffled under his hands again. His fingers stroked my spine soothingly.

"Because you seem so harsh and so sarcastic around him," I replied into the couch cushions.

It was a long time until he spoke. I waited patiently. "I don't really hate him, to be honest. You can say it's just a sibling rivalry intensified by a thousand because your feelings that you felt before as a human is magnified when you turned into a vampire." He gave my butt a gentle smack, and playfully, I sat up and gave him a push onto the carpet. He yelped and fell to the floor. "And that was not necessary."

"Then don't smack my ass next time. Can I eat now?" I demanded, speculating the Taco Bell on the table next to me.

"Pay up first," he said with a sexy grin. I flushed. He got up, with the vampire speed of course, and stopped just two centemetrs from my nose. His breath, smelling of something other than the metallic scent of blood, and lifted a hand to my face.

"And why would you need a payment for food?" I asked stupidly.

"Because I got you food, shopped at a poor excuse for a clothing boutique, gave you a full body massage, and made sure this place is safer than area 51," he replied, then kissed me again. I couldn't help it. I jumped on him, sticking my tongue into his mouth eagerly. His breath and feather like touches were so soft and gentle that I moaned. Damon's lips travelled to my throat, and I gasped at his teeth grazing the skin there.

"I just told you moments ago, I am not having sex with you," I giggled, pushing up off of him. He played the mask of hurt, and pouted. I rolled my eyes and dug into my food so fast I was as fast as Damon when he did something.

"I know one other way you can pay up for all this," he suddenly said, leaning over my shoulder while I inhaled my nachos.

"Oh really?" I muttered around the chip and cheese I chewed on with eager teeth.

"Go crazy," he said with a wide grin, throwing his arms as wide as they would go. I was hopelessly lost with his words.


	26. Chapter 26

**Playlist for Damon and Alex's Dancing:  
~Faster Kill Pussycat-Paul Oakenfold ft. Brittany Murphy  
~Speechless-Lady GaGa**

**A/N:This scene is a bit like the one in the tv series where Damon and Vicki are dancing. But I assure you guys Damon wont be an ass to Alex like he was to Vicki. :-D He likes her too much for that. Enjoy!!**

**~DamonSalvatoreLuver**

~It turns out that Damon wanted me to dance around in jeans and a bra and his leather jacket to let off stress and just relax. And that's what I did. I dressed in the most comfortable jeans possible, slung across his jacket on my shoulders, and grabbed my bottle of champagne, twirling and dancing around to the song, "Faster Kill Pussycat." He was so sexy without a shirt hiding his torso, and watching him dance around with a bottle of scotch in his hand was pretty hot and funny.

I passed my lunch on the coffee table in front of the soft red velvet couch, popped a nacho chip covered in cheese and beef into my mouth, and swigged more champagne straight from the bottle. I knew I was going to get drunk later, but I didn't really care. I just wanted to have a little freedom from stress before I have to think about Brian attacking me right now.

"Hey, Damon! Have I ever told you how sexy you are without a shirt?!" I screamed. he was on the second landing, swaying his hips with a slow, sexy motion that got me speechless. I drooled over his hotness. Did I mention he's sexy?

Damon jumped off the landing, and swung me in a circle in his warm arms. "That's probably the best thing you've ever said to me," he commented, kissing my neck. I giggled and wrapped my arms around his neck, letting his butterfly kisses trail to my collarbone.

"I can't do any better; I've never, _ever_ complimented a guy before, maybe except Brian...I don't know. But you're hot, Damon Salvatore, and I mean it," I murmured. Damon's demanding hands pulled me so close to him I felt his body, my hips were nearly close to grinding with his, his chest brushing my own chest. I blushed hotly. "And I see you're getting a bit horny." I laughed at his slightly uncomfortable look, and pulled away a little bit.

"I don't get horny; I get aroused, but that is on the most rare occasion possible." His eyes traveled down my bare flesh and the way my jeans were low-riders, showing my stomach greatly. "You, on the other hand..."

"There is no way I can get a vampire aroused. Isn't that impossible?" I asked casually as he pulled me into a slow dance as the song changed into, "Speechless." We held each other quite close, and I loved it. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and his own arms were locked around my bare waist underneath his jacket.

"Not really; vampires can get easily aroused...with the right person and taste for blood, of course," he replied, kissing my forehead. "It also depends how strong your love-life was in your human life." He ran a hand through my now glossy, shiny and dark hair. My natural curls were there, and the lavender oils really helped my hair get a nice shine and it even gave a bit of volume in the front bangs. "Does me being a vampire scare you in any way, Alex? And don't be afraid to admit it, either."

I shrugged. "Sometimes it does; other times, it makes me wonder what it would be like to be a vampire, and live forever." I had the risk to gently graze my nails against the soft skin at the back of his neck, playing with some strands of his thick hair. His growl was playful and it sent shivers up my back.

"How does it scare you?" he asked.

"The thought of fangs biting into skin kinda makes me shiver, and your eyes when you go all vampire...that's pretty scary." I leaned my head against the left side of his chest. Shockingly, I heard a faint thumping. _He has a heart_, I thought with wonder. _And his skin isn't one inch hairy_...It was true. The feel of his silky, smooth, hairless skin...it was so irresistible. "And you have a heart?"

"Of course, lovely Alex." His cheek rested on my newly shiny hair, sniffing my head. "Did you think I was Edward-What's-His-Face?" That made me laugh. "No; I have a heart and it was black...then you fixed it. When you came along, and resisted my charm and compulsion...I knew you were strong and confident even through the toughest situations."

I blushed. "I couldn't handle my parents death," I stated, closing my eyes and sniffing his flesh.

"But you didn't get sent to one of those insane asylums because you watched your parents die right in front of you. That shows that you can take on anything you wanted. Nothing scared you; nothing bothered you; and nothing really mattered until you figured it out and let it go. If you can handle your older brother being a jackass, and you can handle me being a stalker, then you have more courage than you think, Alex. You're strong enough to face the Devil himself because you're so brave and not afraid to face the world." His voice was like a breeze against my hair; he was telling the truth, too. I could tell that. "And that's why I love you, Alex Hugh. You are a very strong girl with the confidence to face the world head-on."

"You really are a cute, charming, and the most sweetest vampire in the world, Damon Salvatore. And that is why I love you, too." I clung to him, face buried in his chest. I didn't love for looks or charm this time; I loved for personality and trust, and that was all I ever really wanted.


	27. Chapter 27

~Me and Damon were napping on the couch when Stefan came in and roused Damon gently.

"Damon," I heard Stefan say. I opened my eyes slightly as Damon kissed my hair. "I have valuable information about Brian." Damon stroked my hair, waking me. I opened my eyes a little more, and stared at him.

"Let's get to work, Alex," he whispered. I nodded and stretched. Stefan dropped a small box into my lap.

"It came for you, Alex. From Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline," he stated as I gently shook the box. I opened it. I found a pair of silver hoops and a diamond necklace laying on a soft bed of silk. I grinned. Those three girls were so sweet...

"Aw. They're so pretty. Remind me to thank them later," I said, tucking the jewelery back into the box after fingering the necklace with interest. "So what's so special about this valuable info about Brian?"

"I used to know him from the old Mystic Falls. He was a friend of our father's, and I remember father used to hang around Brian a lot. But back then, Brian was named Louis Goins." Stefan had lots of old eighteen century pictures, mostly small paintings of the Salvatore family, tucked under his arm. Stefan uncovered the first painting in which depicted a lush green forest with a small pond behind a mansion. The mansion's gardens were surrounded by boxed hedges, and horses grazed in a nearby field. Two men stood shoulder to shoulder up close to the frame; one was of a tall man with a black, crispy beard and musty green eyes. The other showed...well, Brian. His hair was golden and shiny, and he looked happy and sunny.

"Brian, or Louis, was also an aquaintance of Katherine, the vampire who changed me and Damon. And while Louis was around, Katherine and him hung out frequently, having tea and walking the gardens constantly with each other. Katherine and Louis had many affairs with each other, including sexual affairs. But before Katherine had come along, Louis was around father many times.

"Father was having a difficult time investing money, so he hired an invester who would help him. The investor was Louis, and Louis had more knowledge about money and stocks than even Damon and I did." Stefan handed me another picture of an old banking house. Brian stood in front of the front doors with another man in a sharp suit and a younger lad in a Confederate soldier's uniform. Stefan continued. "Although Louis was an excellent investor and a great friend to my father, he often had affairs with prostitutes and gambled a bunch of money, but he gambled well and wisely, losing only a little money and gaining so much of it he spent it on literally anything.

"My father had noticed that Louis was needing a place to stay due to the constant bickering between his older brother and his mother, so our father offered him a place to stay. Two weeks later, Katherine came along."

"Can you get to the good stuff, Count Snoring-ula? You're boring the girl to the brink of death," Damon insisted, waving at me. I grinned, and leaned my head against his shoulder. He snuggled me closer to him, kissing my hair.

Stefan rolled his eyes and gave me the next picture. A picture of the Salvatore mansion, with Damon, Brian, and Stefan standing on the front porch steps. Stefan resumed his long speech. "Louis wasn't a vampire at this time; he was a simple twenty-four year old man with no future except with women and money. Katherine changed him the night before she changed me and Damon. I didn't know until Damon and Louis both told me they had seen Katherine with them." Stefan glared at his older brother. Damon smirked, and continued looking at me with those deep, blue eyes.

"Anyways, after Katherine had changed him, he ran off somewhere and we had no idea where until you told us, Alex. Was it San Diego, California?" he asked me. I confirmed it with a nod of my head. "Louis ran for the west when he changed."

"And why does he want me?" I asked as he gave me a depict of Brian and Katherine. To my surprise, Katherine looked a whole lot like Elena, only Elena didn't look so wicked and evil and stuck-up.

Stefan shrugged. "Don't know. I can't even imagine what he wants from you. But Alex, I need to say something." I frowned and looked up at him. "Louis used to know a girl who looked a lot like you back then, and I'm trying to find out how. But, in the meantime, Damon here will be your guard and so will I. Brian wouldn't dare touch you with us around." His words were soothing and comforting, and I hugged him tightly for the relaxing thoughts.

Stefan muffled my hair, and claimed he was going to bed, and left. But me and Damon remained cuddled next to the couch's arm, his fingers twirling a curl.

"So how was your relaxation day? Do I get a rating?" Damon asked me with a sexy grin.

I giggled a bit. "I would normally give it an eight since you scared me shitless at one point, but you're so cute and charming that I give you a flat ten thousand," I said, kissing the skin right below his chin. He made a low sound, and tilted my head up for a passionate, tongue kiss. Wrapping my arms around his broad neck, I pressed myself closer to him, and he slung my leg over his thigh, rubbing my knee. He pulled back to look at me.

"Is it still too late?" he asked. _I knew he would ask me again,_ I thought.

"Make out instead of sex?" I asked him. He grinned, swung me up in his arms, and raced upstairs so fast it made my head spun.


	28. Chapter 28

~"Okay, so first we need to find out why Brian wants you, and then we have to kill him if his intention is to kill you," Elena summed up.

I nodded. "Yup. But first we have to plan out the strategy," I added, sipping some more soda.

"And what if it doesn't work?" Bonnie asked.

I shrugged. "Then get ready to plan my funeral."

Me, Elena, Bonnie and Caroline were at the Mystic Grill, talking out some sort of plan to catch Brian. Stefan was playing pool, watching the area around me carefully, and Damon was drinking his shot of tequila, also watching the doors and windows. Every now and then, the two brothers nodded at each other the place was clear, and resume their bird-watching. But Damon mostly kept his eyes on me. He raised his tequila shot glass to me, as if toasting me. Then he drank it down.

Caroline huffed at him. The girls had been speculating this. "He's such a jerk. I am so glad he got over me," she muttered, flicking a piece of soft, blond hair over her shoulder.

"He is such a dickhead," Bonnie included.

"He's so stupid when it comes to women," Elena finished.

"He is so sweet and romantic," I heard myself say dreamily, gazing at Damon. His eyes gazed back.

"What?!" The chorus of the other girls' voices startled me from my staring at Damon, and I spun around. All three were identical masks of shock and such worry.

"Are you crazy?! He killed Tanner and our old friend Vicki," Bonnie sputtered.

"He's the devil in disguise," Elena said.

"He bites girls for fun, and doesn't give a damn about them," Caroline ended.

I flushed. "But...he's not like that to me," I protested. "Like, yesterday he gave me a massage and was there when Spencer died, and he was there when I cried. How can he sound so bad?"

Bonnie was giving me a strange look. "He...wait, he gave you a massage? And he was there when Spencer died?" Bonnie looked at the bar, where a new guy was ordering up a shot of whiskey to Damon, and Bonnie patted my arm gently. "Ohmygod, Alex. I am so sorry. I guess I'm just a bit worried about you, that's all." She hugged me tightly. "And your curls are so sleek and gorgeous." Elena and Caroline also gave me compliments on my hair. I had worn it down to let the sleekness glow, and already guys were hitting on me, and I made other girls jealous.

"Thanks guys, but...I honestly think that maybe I should move away from here. I don't want to cause anyone any trouble," I stammered, touching Elena's arm.

"Don't Alex. We love you like a sister now," Elena reassured. Caroline and Bonnie were nodding. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Damon and Stefan looking straight at me, watching. "And, I know Damon is a jackass, but if you love him, then I will have to get used to it. But don't move Alex." She hugged me then, and Caroline and Bonnie's arms went around my neck.

"Oh, you guys..." I muttered around the mass of human bodies, tears filming my eyes. I had never felt like this before. Being so close to others who cared about you other than your family...it felt like a miracle. I wanted a girlfriend as well as a hot vampire boyfriend, but it was so hard to come by because I was one of those girls who was shy and also very weird and mean around new people. But Caroline, Bonnie and Elena looked so promising and comforting, that my shyness melted away and I felt a whole bunch happier. This was one of those things that I always wanted; a bunch of trustful people around me.

"Just please allow us to help you in any way we can Alex," Caroline said. "And you do know that I will have to deal with Damon as well, right?"

I laughed. "He'll be good; I know he will." I flashed a smile at him, and he smiled back, winking. "Though he is a bit full of himself..."

"A _bit_ full of himself?" Caroline said sarcastically. We all just laughed.

* * *

~"How am I full of myself?" Damon asked me as he escorted me to his car.

I chuckled. "You caught that, huh?" I asked.

Damon grinned, unlocking his car. "Not very hard to ignore you, my beautiful." He kissed me then.

"Thank you for letting me keep my virginity, Mr. Sexy and Charming," I muttered when he pulled back. I poked his nose with my finger playfully.

"Anytime you want," he whispered. "But when will I be able to hold you in my arms naked?"

"When I say so." A certain thought dawned on me. "Are you full?" I asked curiously.

That question threw him off. "Full?" he said, blinking.

"Yeah...full of...you know." I touched his neck suggestively, right where a steady pulse beat under my stroking fingers. I was blushing profusely, but I just wanted to know something. And since he was a vampire...

Damon caught on when my fingers grazed his warm skin on his throat. He was where I was already. "You want me to bite you?" he asked.

I flushed and even darker hue of red. "Well, it seems like...you know, vampires are real now, and well, I was just wondering what a vampire's bite will fell like..."

"No, Alex. I will not bite you under any circumstance," Damon stated firmly. I think I just pissed him off. _Great going, Alex,_ I thought stupidly. _You just pissed off your vampire boyfriend._


	29. Chapter 29

~I stood my ground. Asking Damon to bite me was taking a lot of courage, so I should at least get some credit.

"Damon, it won't hurt, you know. I can't feel physical pain anymore. Just mental pain," I said, though the last few words were whispers. I flushed even hotter.

"I am not doing it, Alex. Vampire bites can hurt. And I don't know if I would stop if I did bite you. I could kill you," Damon was saying, walking around his car to drive off. I ran up and cut him off.

"Damon, please. I won't say or do anything. Just bite me, please," I begged. I grabbed his arm to stop him, but he shook me off and spun around to glare at me.

"I said no Alex! And 'No' is no!" Damon roared. I flinched back at his tone. Reluctantly, I obeyed, and climbed into the car. I sat as far from Damon as possible due to his anger on his face. _Great going, Alex the Bitch,_ I thought bitterly to myself. _Watch what you say next time, you mouthy human girl!_

While mentally yelled at myself, I snuck a few glances at Damon. His grip on the car's steering wheel was like iron, but his jaw was relaxed and he didn't look too mad. I felt foolish., Asking a vampire to bite your neck must have been like a vampire rule or something. I didn't know. All I knew was that I was never going to ask him about him biting me ever again. And that was final.

Damon's blue Corvette swiftly pulled into the lot in front of the boarding house. He shut off the engine, but didn't get out. I waited, but he never twitched his jaw.

"Alex, the reason I don't want to bite you is that I will not be able to control myself to stop, and I can't stand the thought of hurting you," Damon said quickly. His eyes were fixed on mine, watching me softly and gently.

"I don't care, Damon. Physical pain doesn't hurt anymore," I said back, crossing my arms stubbornly.

"Don't be stupid, Alex. You can't _not feel_ physical pain. You can only block it out, but you cannot _not feel _physical pain," he stated fiercely. It was quite plain that he wasn't going down without a fight.

"For the last God damn time, Damon! It. Won't. Hurt. Why won't you see that?" I demanded.

"Because you will feel pain, Alexandria Hugh! Don't argue with me!" Damon shouted.

"No I won't!"

I don't want you to feel anymore pain!"

"What do you mean, 'Anymore pain?!'"

"You still have pain from your parents and Spencer and Brian who, if you don't know already, has tried to kill you. So you are not going to force me!"

I rolled my eyes. "I wish I could use compulsion like a vampire," I mumbled to myself.

That did it. Damon snarled at me, showing his fangs nearly right in my face, and ran out of the car and into the house. I was left with the driver's door hanging open, backed into the seat in total fright.

Slowly, like a robot, I climbed out of my seat, opening the door. I closed my door and the driver's, and made my way inside with caution. Damon was seated on the couch, bent over his hands, probably thinking. I felt my heart tug at my foolishness to anger him, and, like a discouraged person, began to tread the stairs up to my room.

"Alex, wait..." I heard Damon say, then pin me to the wall with a kiss on the lips. I gasped, then surrendered to his mouth, braiding my hands into his hair. I had needed the kiss. I had been so stressed and frustrated for a while, and I felt bad for pissing Damon off, that I think he and I both needed a sweet kiss.

"Alex, I...I am so sor..." He started to say, pulling back, and wahat I could swear looked like tears in his eyes.

"Ssh," I whispered, placing a finger on his lips. Damon paused, taking my hand in his grasp and kissing the palm. I shivered at the touch. He kissed me more eagerly this time, mouth fusing into my own, dominating me with his hands and mouth.

I knew what I wanted. I wanted nothing but Damon. His scent, his mouth, his hair, his hands...everything. I had such a desperate need for him. Everything about me was so depressing. I lost my entire family except Loud Mouth, but I was too scared to lose Loud Mouth. I was scared of losing my own life and all hopes of living. I needed a cure. Anything to let me think straight without worrying about my dog or my own life. I didn't really worry too much about Damon; I knew he could take care of himself. But I was terrified Damon was going to somehow get himself killed as well. So while he raced me upstairs to his bedroom and placed me on the covers, my mind became to work properly for once.

Damon was a dream; his face and reflexes and feather-light touches were like ecstasy. My clothes began to disappear, and I revelled in the experience. I had never had sex before, and I thought Brian was the one to do it with. But his one secret he hid, his vampire secret, made me rethink about my life. My sex life to be exact. But Damon...he was different. He and I, we were one. We were meant to be together. I couldn't live without him. I loved him more than my own life.

I guess that was why I was doing this with him. When we rolled around across the bedspread, Damon held me tight. He knew it, too. The fact that we were getting closer to Brian's past and reasons for him wanting to kill me could kill us both. I wanted him now. Just to feel him. Sex was something that was in the back of my head since I started dating anyone, but sex with Damon had been on my mind for a while.

And nothing was going to spoil it. Not even Stefan and Elena doing the exact same thing in the other room. I grinned slightly. Stefan and Elena knew, too.


	30. Chapter 30

~The morning was blissful and slow. I lay under the covers, wrapped up like a burrito, head held up by two soft pillows. My bare flesh felt the soft caress of silk, and my head felt...cleared. Of memories, questions, shock...everything. I couldn't feel anything except relaxation and happiness. I nuzzled my face closer to the pillow, clutching the sheets next to me. But I frowned. Empty. I was alone in Damon's bed.

Opening my eyes, I realized that the bedspread on the other side had been pulled away, and the pillow had the indent of a head. So he couldn't have been up long. I sat up and stretched my arms, the sheets falling from my body, pooling at my waist.

Morning sun splashed my face with soft rays of golden light, and I smiled when a bird chirped nearby.

My neck stung, though.

Frowning again, I gingerly touched my neck, and recoiled when my fingers became wet. I looked at them. They were smeared in blood.

My first reaction was a shot of panic through my back. Then those God damned questions flooded my head. Was it deep? Did it leave a permanent mark? Would Stefan see the bite and hurt Damon?

Then, with another jolt of shock, I shook my head. I shouldn't worry about it. It was what I wanted anyway.

I slid out of his bed and walked to the mirror next to the dresser in the corner, naked. My neck was covered and dripping in blood, and the stinging was slightly annoying. I angled my head and watched the bite marks stretch with my skin on my neck.

I shrugged, not really caring. I stole one of his button-up shirts, black-he wore no other color-and pulled on blue panties.

I met Elena outside in the hallway.

"Nice," I said, pointing her attire. It was the same as mine, only her borrowed shirt was a regular short-sleeved T-shirt, and her pair of panties were...boxers? I asked her about the boxers.

She blushed and giggled. "Yeah, um, my underwear is missing. But you look more skimpy that I would have thought." Suddenly her smile disappeared. "Oh my God. Is that a bite mark on your neck?" Elena jumped forward and touched it. I pulled back.

"Elena, it doesn't hurt. It's just fine. I'm fine," I protested, holding up my hands. But she pushed my hands away.

"Alex, did Damon do that to you?" she asked, horror tainting her pretty voice.

I got a bit miffed. "So? Damon doesn't treat me like shit as some people may think. He was a gentleman last night, and I don't regret having sex with him. And the bite was out of love, not for blood." I placed my hands on my hips.

"Why, thank you, lovely." Damon's voice...it was like silk. I held my breath, expecting him to run his fingers through my hair, or rub my back. I turned and saw he was wearing only black jeans, one hand behind his back, the other holding a mug of steaming hot chocolate from the smell of it.

"For you," he stated, placing a kiss on my lips and giving me the hot chocolate. I sipped it. It was mixed with a hint of french vanilla.

"Damon, did you bite Alex?" Elena demanded, crossing her arms. Her face was stern and hard like stone. In only one second, Stefan was standing right behind her, gazing at my neck.

Damon smiled dangerously. "It doesn't matter, now does it, little brother?" he purred, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. Good God, his fragrance...I shivered with pleasure with the thought of kissing that same skin.

"Please tell me she wanted this and you didn't do it for your selfish needs?" Stefan sighed. But it was obvious he was worried about me.

Damon got a bit defensive. He snarled. "That, brother, is none of your business." Then sprinted downstairs with me on his arm. Not one drop of cocoa dripped. We ended up in the kitchen.

"Sorry about that," Damon said, leaning up against the counter top. He smiled. "And I have something for you."

I looked at him over the rim of my mug of steaming chocolate. "Really?" I said.

Still smiling, he produced a rose from behind his back. The flower was in full bloom, petals full and thick and so beautiful I nearly cried. The thorns had been snipped off, and the stem was a dark green. What threw me off was that the flower was black instead of peach or red or white.

"Um...why is the rose black?" I asked, smelling it. It smelled like any other rose.

He seemed confused. "Black is sometimes mistaken for bad, but to others it means good fortune and a happy life. If you don't like it I can return it for another..." He proffered his hand for me to give it back.

But I liked it. I shook my head. "No, no. I love it. Really." I leaned up for a kiss. He kissed me lightly, twirling a curl around his finger.

"So, I think we should try and find clues about where Brian is. And then...kill him, right?" I asked, searching for the box of pancake mix. Stefan and Elena joined us as Damon pondered.

"I think that would be wise. but I'm worried about you and Elena getting hurt," he finally said.

"Where should we start anyway?" Stefan intervened. "We don't even know what he likes to do on his free time."

That made a memory flood back into my head. I suddenly smiled. "You don't," I said excitedly. "But I do." I turned from mixing water and pancake mix in a bowl and faced the group. "Brian loved to be a charming gentleman around the cute girls, even when he was dating me. There was this one girl...Jen, that was it. She had a big crush on him. And he to her. But he never admitted it around me; he only flirted with her. Another thing is he likes big parties. Any parties with booze and girls, and he'll be there faster than a jet could fly."

"That's perfect, because Caroline wanted to throw a big bash this weekend. Maybe he will show up there," Elena said. She began to help me with the pancakes. "But we need to be ready to kill him when we get the chance."

"Hey Stefan, does the myth about vampires getting killed by a stake true or false?" I asked.

"The real vampires can get killed by stakes, fire, or being dismembered. Vervain can only keep them from controlling your mind."

"Can holy water or crucifition...?"

"Nope. The only myth that is true is the stake one. Nothing else can harm us." Stefan's face dawned brightly. "Wait right here." He ran out of the room, and zoomed back with some wood in his hands. He passed one to Elena and me. It was a carved wooden stake, light but thick in volume. "Both of you use it whenever you're in any trouble."

Now this was where the real action was!


	31. Chapter 31

"I don't feel so good, Damon," I admitted, tightening the jacket to me closer.

Damon, looking so God damned sexy in a black polo shirt and dark jeans, squeezed an arm around my shoulders. "Don't be," he whispered, kissing my hair. "Me and Stefan will look after you. And Elena and Caroline and Bonnie and...Mutt, was it?"

"I think you mean Matt," I added, patting his chest. He grinned and went back to walking around skeptically.

The feeling in my gut wasn't a good feeling. Caroline and Bonnie threw the party at the Mystic Grill like was planned, but it was a trap to capture and kill Brian. My part was to act like it was a normal party, but I was supposed to spot Brian and lure him into the abandoned bar down the hallway next to the bathrooms. Elena, Caroline and Bonnie also pitched in, watching the bar and game corner. Stefan, Damon, and Matt patrolled the grill and bar like it was a prison.

I sipped more of my scotch. Yeah; scotch. Damn vampire boyfriend got me hooked.

While watching the place, I avoided looking at the bartender. I knew I wouldn't see my brother. Something picked at the wound on my heart at the thought of Spencer, and the thought I will never see him again.

I had no idea what I was going to do when this was over. Mystic Falls was great, but staying would only make me want to forget my life and what had happened to everyone I once loved. But where would I go? Back to California? I can't even afford an apartment there. Go live with Aunt Kimberly in Ohio? The woman can't even take care of herself. Should me and Damon sneak away to a beach house in Hawaii? Would Damon even like Hawaii?

My thoughts kept pondering until the bartender said, "Hey, Miss. Would you like another shot of scotch?"

I blinked. "Um...no thanks. But can I have a shot of tequila please?" I asked sheepishly.

"Certainly, on the house," he said smiling.

I waited, and spun around in my stool, watching Elena and Caroline play pool. They nodded at me. I turned my attention to the floor, watching moth of everybody here dancing and swaying their bodies smoothly and fluently. Stefan grinned at me. Damon was watching me, and smiled sexily when he caught my eye. I winked at him, blew him a kiss, then retrieved my shot of tequila.

The hour of sitting there was excrutiating. The stool's cushion was some what flat, and I wriggled in my seat a few times just to get rid of the pain in my buttocks. So I drank one more shot of tequila and made my way to the dance floor. Bonnie was already there, swinging her body and grinning like crazy.

"May I join you?" I said over the music and chatter of people.

"But of course!" she said taking me by the hands. Still interlocking fingers, we danced and stomped our feet to the beat, and every so often Stefan or Damon would come by and kiss my hair or tell me everything is good and the coast is clear. Still, my gut was telling me something else.

"Bonnie, do you see anything suspicious?" I asked after a few minutes of dancing. Bonnie did a quick look around and shook her pretty brown curls.

"Nothing that I can see," she replied. We resumed dancing.

Stefan and Elena came up, and began to dance with us as a slow song was playing. Bonnie walked off just as Damon appeared.

"I see you wanted me for yourself for a time, eh?" I teased, dancing close to him. I constricted my arms around his neck, and Damon's warm hands were swaying my hips to and fro.

He shrugged. "That, and I felt lonely in the corner," he said, brushing his lips across my mouth.

I chuckled. "Cutting yourself again?"

Damon rolled his eyes but a small smile played his lips. "Nope; but I was getting high."

"That's my brother, not you, Damon," Elena said where her head was nestled in Stefan's shoulder. She lifted her head and her eyes sparkled. "Hey, Alex. Why don't you go sing for us? Karaoke is about to come up. Prove to us you can sing Rihanna."

I flustered a dark red. "Thank you Elena. But I really shouldn't..." I protested, backing away from a beaming Damon. He was towing me towards the karaoke machine.

"Just one song, Alexandria. For all of us," Damon was begging. He was actually begging me for something! There was a first.

"But, Damon...please, no, I don't..." I was trying so hard to protest but he gave me a light shove onto the stage and switched to an all familiar song, "Russian Roulette." I was shaking so hard my teeth were clicking together. Might as well get it out of the way.

I sat on a borrowed stool. The lights were focused on me, and my hands were folded across the microphone. I added a few gestures and sad blinks with my eyes to show dramatization for fun. Everyone was watching; even the bartender. I took a deep breath, calming my rapidly beating heart, and sang.

_And you can see my heart beating;  
You can see it through my chest;  
Said I'm terrified, but I'm not leaving;  
I know that I must pass this test;  
So just pull the trigger._

When I was done, the whole place burst into applause. I was blushing and smiling like crazy, and I jogged off the stage and into Damon's waiting arms.

"You were great, Alex," Damon was saying. "You do sound like Rihanna; a lot like her, actually."

Then something grabbed me.


	32. Chapter 32

~I felt strong arms grab me and run.

The wind blew past me at dangerous speeds, and I first I thought I was going to faint because my head was spinning. But the hotness of big, beefy hands around my waist kept my senses wide and alert.

Just as the running began, it stopped, and something pushed me into a wire fence. I was outside now. My jacket had been ripped away from my shoulders, leaving my arms bare since I wore a tank-top. Broken wire sliced into my head, and the wetness ran down my eyebrows and in front of my eyes. They focused on the person standing there.

It was Brian. His blond hair was gelled neatly, and his clothes were sharp and he smelled wonderful. But his eyes and mouth were twisted into a demon's. Sharp fangs and red and veined eyes.

"Hello, Little Sweets. Did you think I would not know that you and your vampire lover would try and trap me?" his voice purred smoothly. He was flipping something around in the air. My stake. I had hidden it behind my back, but he must have taken it. That left me completely vulnerable.

I gulped, but kept my voice as brave and less shaky as possible. "I didn't think you were that smart, anyway," I admitted.

He smacked me across the cheek. Hard enough to knock my head into the wired fence again. "Watch it, Little Sweets. If I killed you now, your precious boyfriend would kill me so quickly I wouldn't even get a chance to explain everything."

"Then why don't you start with telling me where we are," I suggested around a sticky mouth. My new surroundings were an old warehouse, wire fence circling the building and old factory stationary near the rear of the warehouse.

Brian grinned dangerously. "An old warehouse about five miles off the road." He grinned wider an spread his arms in a broad circle. "And we are so far from the grill that not even Damon or Stefan can detect me." He turned back to me. "Which gives me the best pleasure to kill you slowly."

"And that leads me to my next question." I managed to sit up, but my eyes were becoming more blurred and fuzzy it was hard to keep them open. I felt tired all at once. "Why do you want to kill me?"

"My dad, that's why." My face was puzzled. "My dad had hated your dad for dating your mother. My dad was so jealous that he called revenge on Maryann for choosing your dad instead of mine. My father had sacrificed everything in his life to be with her, and she chose your dad. My dad is very competitive and easily jealous. Since my dad and yours was only twenty years old, my dad seek revenge to get his one love back."

This was sounding even stupider than I could think. But I had no choice but to listen further. Brian stalked around me, watching my every twitch of muscle. "So my father planned to kill your dad. He followed your dad, to the store, to the bank, to work, everywhere. My dad got even more furious when you and Spencer came along. 'Those should be my children,' he roared. 'My children! Mine!' At first, dad planned to kidnap you and Spencer when you were both young, but he just wanted your dad out of the way, and he didn't want to go through the trouble of kidnapping you and your older brother.

"After two months when you changed eighteen, he made his final move. He followed you and your parents to the grocery store, and, with a whole van full of gunners, shot everyone in site. Unfortunately, he even killed your mother. That made my dad go crazy and kill himself with a rope and chair. And a hook hanging off the ceiling."

"That still doesn't explain why you want me."

This time he punched me. I felt blood spurt from my mouth, and I swear I glimpsed a chunk of my lip fly away. I squealed. "Maybe if you were more patient," he growled in my ear. "Then you would hear your God damned answer." He got softer, and tenderly stroked my cheek. Then he sprinted away from me. "So I took on my dad's legacy. Kill someone from the Hugh family. And plus, I just wanted you back after Jen left me. I realized I couldn't live without you." His face suddenly got scary and twisted. "But then you had sex with Damon and you got attached to him."

"How do you know them?"

"I met them in eighteen sixty two, a year before Katherine. Giusseppe was such a gentleman, letting me stay with them while I pretended to be sick. I had been a vampire since fourteen ninety six, did you know that?" He leaned in closer to my face. "That's pretty old. Even though I don't look it, huh? I was able to fake being eighteen years of age, even to my father. I told him I was an orphan and his wife and him took me in instantly" He cocked his head as his eyes flicked to my hair. "Damon made your curls shinier and more springy. I like that."

"If you want me back, why do you want to kill me?"

"Because you're in love with someone else. I know. I had been following you around. I attacked your brother. I was a gunner from your parents' death." He gripped my chin. "I wanted you, Alexandria Hugh. Yet, smelling that you weren't a virgin anymore, well...that sort of pissed me off. So now I have to waste you." He gestured to my throat. "And that bite mark doesn't fit you on any level."

Tears stung my eyes. _This is it_, I thought with a shudder going down my back. _There is nothing Damon can do for me now._


	33. Chapter 33

~I was shaking. My teeth rattled and chipped as they crashed against each other. I couldn't believe Brian was being such an ass just because he revenged his dad after his dad killed himself. My mom had always said she was an average person whom no other guy but Dad ever wanted. But Brian's father, Mr. Lawrence Schwartz, was a bit of a stalking hound. Whenever I went to Brian's house when we were dating, Mr. Schwartz would always talk to me as though he was affectionate around me. But I didn't know he had a thing for my own mother. Maybe it was because I looked a lot like my mother. I couldn't be sure. But I had to estimate that the only reason Brian wanted me dead was because he just wanted to avenge his father. I also had a feeling that Damon will do everything in his will power to find Brian and kill him if he found me dead.

So I lay there, bunched up like thrown away trash against a wire fence, my blood inviting and strong, even to me, watching with horrified eyes as Brian bared long teeth and hissed, leaning down until his lips were only a few inches from my throat where my pulse was thundering like horses hooves, yanking my hair back so roughly he pulled out a few strands. My limbs were simple phantoms at my sides, and my legs were crushed under his demanding force, keeping me still and motionless while he slowly opened his mouth wide enough to bite and kill me.

_This is it,_ I thought horridly, closing my eyes, waiting for the awful sting of evil vampire teeth. _He is going to kill me for the sake of his father. I love you, Damon. I always have, and always will._

The sharp sting was like fire; nothing like Damon's bite when we had sex. Damon's teeth were gentle and caused little pain; Brian's teeth were gnawing at my throat and caused more pain than being trampled by a hundred oxen.

I tried screaming, wondering if Damon or Stefan were close enough to hear me. But Brian maneuvered a hand around me and clamped it over my mouth, cutting off any contact to my lover.

I was scared. So scared that I began to cry. Fat tears ran down my cheeks, smothered gasps of air passing through my lungs painfully. I didn't want to die like this. I wanted to die peacefully; in a tomb or be cremated next to my husband. But everything was wrong. I was dying under the jaws of a vampire, and my lover was already dead. Well, half-dead anyway.

My senses were shutting down now. I couldn't see the black sky anymore; I couldn't hear Brian's sucking sounds; I couldn't feel Brian's steel teeth gnawing me apart; I couldn't smell the crisp, clean air around me or the stench of my own blood. Nothing.

I let Brian drain me slowly. My memories floated around my head one last time. It was like a slide-show before me, playing back every scene and image with a sad happiness and a feeling of farewell. I got a glimpse of each one, and each one made more tears cascade down my numb face.

One memory was of me in the front yard in California of our beach house when my parents were alive; I was only a free-spirited three year old...

Another of when we found poor Loud Mouth all by himself in an animal shelter...

Another one of me and Spencer playing Parcheesi for three straight hours...

Me and my old best friend Judy playing in the snow on Big Bear during the winter in California...

And then all the memories of meeting Damon and Stefan...and Elena and Bonnie and Caroline...and having one of the best experiences in a girl's lifetime of meeting a vampire and his brother...and falling in love with a creature of the night with a heart as big as his knowledge...making love to Damon for the first time...

And then, everything stopped.

The memories weren't racing through my head like they were a second ago, and my body had become still and numb. All my senses were still shutting down, floating away from me, but there was still enough strength in my senses to be dull and faint.

I felt something warm grab me and yank me away, and I was suddenly aware that I was flying.

I subconsciously knew I had impacted something hard and heavy, but I was too weak to even hear what was going on around me, though I strangely heard snarls and a terrible hiss that scratched up against my eardrums faintly. I had a strange feeling that I would have a bruise on my side when I could feel it if I lived, but for now...I let my head swim comfortably. I let all the pain fade into nothing, and my memories flooded my head again. My last one was of Damon's sweet face, half-naked in the sun, holding my black rose in front of him. His smile made dying less painful and more relaxing.

I was too weak to live any longer. My body had no control now.

An angelic voice was calling me home. He said my name over and over again, reaching a pale hand out for me. This angel came to take me home...to my parents and Spencer...poor Loud Mouth and Damon. What would they do when I was gone? I wished Damon a good, happy immortal life with my dog.

_Time to go home, _I thought as I reached for the golden hand in front of me.


	34. Chapter 34

~Light. It was so warm and soft...like the golden arms of God. It encased me in it's arms, drawing me to it. I loved it. The light dissipated the pain, and it felt good to be free of stress and troubles; it felt like ecstasy.

My mind was cloudy; not one thought or memory ran through my head. It was numb and cool, letting the light sweep away everything from my life.

I knew I was dead. I knew I was now a rotting corpse buried underneath the ground in a casket. I was buried with my best clothes, and maybe Damon would be buried with me until he can dig himself out and live a happy, normal vampire life.

The cloud wasn't like thick, sickly fog found on the streets of London; it was a white mist that covered every corner of my mind, blocking out everything.

The light was taking form now, making a white silhouette of God, or maybe it's Spencer, or maybe even Mom and Dad...

I let my misty head mold images out of the white atmosphere. I saw my dog, Loud Mouth, barking and running across the grass in an open field, tongue lolling out of his mouth. More images were rolling into view; Mom and Dad's happy smiles when I won the beauty contest in third grade; when I turned sixteen and they threw me an awesome party at my favorite bowling alley.

And then, I saw him. Damon. My vampire. My sweet, sweet vampire.

I subconsciously smiled at his gentle smile, his beautiful sky blue eyes. He looked at me and held out his arms, and I ran into them. He swung me around in circles, laughing that eternal laugh that I loved so much.

I didn't know when he let me go. I actually don't think he never let me go. It was an eternal hug of passion and belonging.

* * *

~Damon, for the first time in a very long time, he felt broken and depressed.

He was too late. His love, the one he loved more than himself for once, was gone from him.

He sat at the boarding house, watching the fire in the fire place snap and crackle. Stefan and Elena were still at the hospital, standing and probably crying by the corpse of his beloved.

_Alexandria,_ he thought with sorrow. _Please come back to me._ Damon just sat there, stone still in the fire light, doing nothing but thinking.

He had fed on Alex during sex, and since then, they had had a connection; he could sense where she was, could feel her pain. And he could feel her mind getting drowsy and faint, like she was about to faint. He told Stefan she was near the old warehouse factory. But Stefan came too late.

That damned fool Brian had killed her. Damon and Stefan had gotten a good grip on him and beaten the holy hell out of him, but he slipped through their fingers and escaped them. Stefan and Damon both gave Alex their blood, but she didn't come back. Her eyes stayed close and she hardly breathed. She was too close to death to save.

Damon choked on a breath. First Katherine, and now Alex? He had tried to be a good person like St. Stefan and Elena, but he lost the girl of his life just by changing the way he was.

Damon raked a hand through his hair, stood up angrily, and tossed a one ton bookshelf from the wall with all his mighty strength. That damnable fool Brian! He was to blame for everything that had happened. Brian had dated slut after slut, except for Alex of course, and then he tried to kill her? Ridiculous! Absolutely ridiculous! The thought of Brian kissing Alex made Damon growl with absolute rage.

Suddenly, he did something he hadn't done since Katherine had left him. He did the last thing that anyone would expect of Damon Salvatore, the Don Juan of Darkness.

He cried.

He left tears come from his eyes, sobs breaking his breathing pattern. He sat down back in his chair and wept some more, thinking of Alex's dead face, bloody and pale and still like stone.

Damon didn't just love her as a person; he loved her as a best friend, an angel, a good person. He didn't love her; he _adored_ her. And oh, how he would miss her so much.

Damon was weeping so much that he didn't notice or hear his brother enter the room. Damon had no care in the world if it was watching him. All he wanted was Alex.

"Damon," Stefan whispered. Like before in old times Mystic Falls, when the brothers were best friends, Stefan sat next to Damon and embraced Damon's shoulders. "I'm so sorry."

"I don't care about an apology," Damon said so quietly even Stefan strained to hear him. "I just want my Alex back." Stefan patted Damon's shoulder, soothing a shaking muscle beneath the black T-shirt Damon wore that Alex once said was too sexy for words with his body build.

Both brothers were like that for a while until Elena and Bonnie came in. Both girls were saddened and sympathetic by just looking at their faces. The girls' make-up was smeared black underneath their eyes due from dabbing away tears. Elena was still crying. Stefan got up and hugged her, and Elena clutched his shirt to her face. She whimpered and cried harder. Damon's throat clogged from another sob in his chest at the picture. He turned away to the crackling fire.

"Damon, Stefan," Bonnie started. Her voice was slightly hopeful, and both brothers looked at her, waiting patiently although Damon wasn't very happy to wait. "There is something you need to know. It's about Alex."


	35. Chapter 35

~The white mist continued to crowd the walls of my mind. The faces of those I loved still took form within the mist. Everything was painless and stress free.

_Alexandria. My sweet Alexandria._

Mom? Dad? Spencer?

I turned sharply at the voice that had spoken my name when I was little and had cried after a nightmare. That same voice that called me when I got too close to the traffic in the streets when we visited a park. That same voice that named me who I was and who I was going to be.

A silver white light hung in the air before me. I tilted my head at it's sfot glow, courious to see if it whould speak again. The globe of light flowed at about the same level as my eyes, and it was worth watching it bob up and down.

_Alexandria._

There it was again. That voice. I couldn't place it; it sounded like Mom, but it was slightly gruff, so it must be Dad. But then again, it was sharp and quick, so it has to be Spencer. I frowned at the light as it kept calling my name. I then realized that the voice calling me had an echo after it. _Alexandria-andria-andria._ As if more than one voice was calling me.

My soul brightened. It was my family, come to take me home; all three if them were calling me home. To the place where pain didn't exist and I would be in the arms of my parents and my beloved older brother Spencer.

I smiled brightly as the mist in front of the glowing light took form of three people: one woman, and two men. The two men looked similar, only one was taller and had lighter brown hair than that of the younger male, and the woman's eyes were the color of dark midnight blue, the same color as the younger male.

In my subconcious, I began to cry. I was going home with my parents and older brother, where everything was okay and painless.

_Alex._

What? What was that?

I frowned again. That voice was new, and it was oddly familiar, but I ignored it as my family called to me, reaching out warm hands to me. I began to walk towards the light.

The old saying, "Don't go into the light," was something that I could tell my friends in limbo or heaven or wherever I was going to now. I figured it was true; if you go into the light, then you are going to the place where your eyes would close, your heart would stop, and your breathing would cease.

I focused on the brilliant light until something shocked me in the heart. _Bam!_

I stumbled back, gasping. This was new; I wasn't supposed to feel that. Everything was supposed to be perfect; no pain, no worries. I stopped my walking, turning around to see what caused the pain in my chest. Nothing but the fine mist around me.

_Bam!_ There is was again!

I looked at my hand, and gasped in horror. My bright colored skin was now like seeing through glass. I was fading. I began to run to my parents and brother.

_Bam!_ Something hit my heart hard that time, knocking the wind out of me momentarily. But I kept my eyes on them, my family, waiting for me to join them.

But the shocks to the heart were becoming frequent. Every two steps I made, the _Bam!_ would hit me. I glimpsed at my hands again. I was fading quickly. I had to get to them before I faded completely!

But it seemed inpossible. To me, it felt like I was in slow motion. I ran and ran and ran, but my parents and Spencer were getting farther and farther away.

I soon heard my name being called along with the shocks. _Alex...Bam! _Run two steps.... _Alex, please...Bam! _Run two steps... _Alex! I beg you!...Bam!_ Run two steps...

My heart lurched when my family began to dissipate. I cried and ran, shouting and screaming not to go. But I was fading so fast, and the mist around me was clearing. I tripped over my own feet and fell face first into the soft mist. I jumped up, hoping to see them there waiting for to catch up to them. But everywhere I looked, everything was fading.

I screamed in pain as a jolt of shock ran through my heart and into my brain.

In th physical world, my eyes flew open and I wailed, "Mom! Dad! Please!" All around me there was motion, blurs of white and blue. My real eyes were foggy and covered, and black and red dots danced in funny patterns across my sight. I couldn't feel the white blur stick something into my upper arm with a small painful prick. Couldn't see the two blurs of brown cry with relief and leave with tears streaming down their faces.

The IV feeder told my brain to shut down and sleep, but I forced them open. I flailed my arms around, hoping that the needle and the blurs of white caught hold of me, shushing me to go to sleep.

They won. My head got foggy in the way when you were half asleep. My eyes began to slowly drift shut, and my head stopped working all together. I collapsed into delirium. The only problem was, when I was looking for my family, I found nothing but scraps of memory.

In the real world, tears stained my face. I was so close, but was so far away. I was never going to see my parents ever again.


	36. Chapter 36

~When I came back to consciousness, I immediately knew I was not dying. I felt heavy and sore, not light and free or stress like I remembered.

I was alive.

Alive...the thought was dizzying, and I instantly began to cry. I was so close to home, where my parents and Spencer were waiting...

"Lovely? Do you hurt?" That voice...could it be?

I found out that I couldn't move my body in any part; I couldn't even twitch my eyelids. But my hearing was sharp and clear. I tried moving my lips. I wanted to answer him. The sound of his voice stopped the crying.

"I don't think she can move quite yet, son. You may have to come back tomorrow," a smooth, gentle voice chimed in.

But I didn't want him to go! I wanted my love! Where was he think he was going?! Couldn't he see that I was in pain?! Where's my Damon?! I want my Damon!

I forced my head through the dizziness and began to flutter my eyelashes purposely, and I forced open my eyes. Black dots danced in front of my eyes, but they quickly dissipated. I forced them open more. Not even Satan could keep me from seeing Damon before I blacked out again. No matter what, I wanted to see Damon more than my own parents.

Everything blurred, and I had to blink a few times just to see clearer.

I saw a blur of movement, and something warm touched my forehead. I cranked my head to the other side and thought I saw a blink of sky blue underneath a black cap. Was that my Damon?

"D'm'n?" I slurred, reaching out a hand to the face. I didn't even feel my hand reach up or stroke the softness that was his cheek.

The face brightened and reached for my cheek. I blinked again, and there he was, as handsome and beautiful as ever. But it was all wrong. His face was worried and his eyes were red ringed like he had been crying. But Damon wasn't known for one to cry. Why was he crying?

"I'm here, lovely. The others are here, too, but they are downstairs getting food. But I didn't want to leave you just yet," his musical voice chimed.

"Good," I slurred, and winced with pain. My head was throbbing painfully, and my whole body felt like it was submerged in acid. More tears filled my eyes, and I was weeping hysterically. Damon. He was my Damon. I was so happy to see him that I couldn't care less about the bandages around my body or the redness of his eyes. I scrambled for Damon to hold me, but Damon was pushing me back, saying that I needed to be still and quiet.

"Lovely, I won't leave you. Now please be still. Shush, Alex. Just relax," he said in my ear. His voice was honey to me; I loved it more than my own soul.

"Please don't leave me," I begged. My head was so fuzzy I couldn't think straight; I thought he meant he was going to leave me for good. But he was all I had left.

Damon was now lying next to me, arms locked around me, holding me close. I constricted my arms around his neck, crying so loudly that I could have bet that Elena or Stefan in the cafeteria downstairs could hear me.

"Alexandria, I love you too much to let go. Now please be silent and just relax. I won't leave you," he promised, and gently kissed my bandaged head. I laid back down, but still cried.

A doctor suddenly bustled into the room, checking my heart rate. "Sweetheart, are you okay? You look upset," he asked in the softest, gentlest tone ever. I could have guessed my entire tuition money that Damon had compelled him to be this way. The doctor looked way too strict and mean to be a nice doctor, with his hawkish face and beak-like nose and dull green eyes.

I shook my head so fast the spinning in my head accelerated, and my head collapsed onto the pillow again. I nearly blacked out when I shook my head. I moaned in pain, and reached for Damon again.

"Lovely? Does it hurt?" he asked in a smooth voice. His hand was warm and silky. I dug my fingers into the soft flesh, keeping him there next to me.

"Everything hurts," I murmured, clutching his hand.

A light step came to the door, and I looked up to find a devastated Stefan in the doorway to the room. He saw my eyes were open and rushed up to the bed, leaning down over my face.

"Are you okay, Alex?" he asked in a soft tone. Damon didn't back-sass him like I would have expected. Instead, he kept watching me wince and moan in pain.

"No; I feel like I got run over by a truck," I confessed. I had such a bad urge to be put back to sleep so I could get rid of the pain, but I just wanted to see Damon's face just one more minute.

They didn't say anything else after that; Stefan and Damon both bent over to hug me. Over the bandages covering me, I hugged them back. Then winced.

"I'll get the doctor," Stefan said, watching the pain flash across my face.

Damon brushed the hair off of my head and kissed the bandages covering my neck. I tried to pull him to my lips for a kiss, but his lips only brushed mine. Tears spilled down my eyes, but let him go.

"Alex, there is someone special here to see you," the doctor said, letting the person behind him come in as well as Stefan.

I couldn't believe my eyes at whom I was looking.

**A/N:Hey y'all! i am starting another story called 'Love Sucks! Literally!' and if there's anyone out there whom likes my stories can read the next one. and thanz for all the reviews ppl!!!**

**~DamonSalvatoreLuver**


	37. Chapter 37

~It couldn't be. It just couldn't be. He wasn't standing there with a worried expression on his face. He wasn't standing there looking scared for me.

"Spencer? Spencer!" I gasped, and my older brother ran to me so fast he nearly tripped over my IV feeder. Spencer knelt and hugged me, tears flowing down both our cheeks.

"Oh, Alex. I can't believe I'm seeing you like this," Spencer said, hugging me tighter. I winced, but let it past.

"I can't believe I'm seeing you at all. I thought you were...were..." I couldn't finish. Seeing my older brother breathing and living and looking at me made my heart flutter with happiness. Brian was supposed to have killed him, but here he was.

"I didn't die, Alex. My breathing stopped, but my heart didn't. Stefan gave me some of his blood and I healed within a week. And don't worry; I know what they are." He cast a gaze over the Salvatore brothers. I smiled.

"And I suppose Damon told you he and I are...?" I asked.

Spencer grinned from ear to ear. "I don't mind. As long as he doesn't bite you against your will or anything like that."

"Good. Because I think Mom and Dad would have had a heart attack." Laughing, we embraced, and let the world shrink around us. I remembered nothing after that.

* * *

_Two weeks later..._

"Damon, cut it out. I'm trying to sleep," I mumbled. Damon was running kisses up my bare back, and he chuckled when a pleasureful shiver ran up my back. We had another awesome round of fun-yes, with my brother in the house-and now Damon wouldn't leave me alone.

Damon licked some stray drops of blood off my shoulder, and I growled in a weak human way. "Damon, my neck still stings. And can I please go to sleep? I'm so tired," I said, agitated.

"Aw, but lovely..." he started to complain, but I shot him a venomous stare, and he snuggled my head up to his chest, resting a pale hand on my hair. He sighed and let the pillow sink beneath his head. He covered us both with the sheets.

"I forgot to ask you something," I said suddenly.

Damon gave me a look. "I thought you said you were tired," he asked confused.

I sat up from his chest, groping for the sheets he was trying to steal from me. "I am, but I need to ask you something first," I said. Damon ripped the sheets from me, and laughed out loud when my entire nudity was visible, and my body turned bright red. "Damon, knock it off! This question is important!" Damon finally heard the seriousness in my voice and stopped, frowning.

"What happened to Brian?" I finally was able to say.

Damon looked at me at first, then rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath. "What?" I said when he didn't speak.

Damon sighed. "I don't know," he said in a flat tone.

I sat still, hoping he'd say more, but I guess his answer was all I was going to get. "That's it? You don't know?" I prompted. Damon nodded. "What the hell do you mean you don't know?"

"Me and Stefan have no idea where he went. I tried to track him down because he ran off when me and Stefan came to rescue you, but I was tracking nothing but wind by the time he ran off like the scared little chicken shit he is," he added.

My eyes got huge. "You mean he is still out there? Omg, Damon! He could kill me any day he wanted to or even kill you or kill Spencer for good this time or..." Damon's mouth stopped my speech. His kiss was telling me to shut up, so I did when he pulled back.

"Love, if he was coming after you again, he will need an army just to get to the house. He now knows that me and Stefan can kick his petty ass anytime, and that it will take him long while just to get to you. So don't worry about it, okay lovely?"

I nodded, hoping he was right for a while.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brian looked up at the big boarding house, eyes on one particular window.

_So they think I am just going to give up,_he thought mischievously. _Maybe I will...maybe I won't._

So going after Maryann's only daughter is out of the question now. But what will he do to get her alone and somewhere not even Damon could find her? Getting Alex alone won't be easy. Brian couldn't even try tp think about getting her alone in a club.

So what to do now?

Nothing yet. Just wait until the right moment comes and Damon and Stefan leave her and she is all alone, then he would kill her without blinking twice. A snap in her neck...draining all the blood out of her frail body...smash her head in a concrete wall...open her chest and rip out her heart...hang her just like his dad...

A loud roar of an engine got his attention. and he whipped around to see Spencer's Ram pull into the parking lot. Brian disappeared into the forest surrounding the boarding house, watching Spencer come out of the truck with Stefan.

_Now they won't even Spencer alone,_Brian thought, watching. Stefan and Spencer slapped each other across the shoulders, smiling and laughing at a joke.

Brian ran to the road, thinking. _How fun this is going to be. I think I should be friends with a pretty girl and tell her to be friends with Alex,_ Brian thought again, and smiled.

Luck was with him. A small frail, brown haired brown eyed girl stood waiting for the bus to come. Brian went straight up to her. "Hey sweet thang. how about you and me go somewhere more private? I have a very important question to ask you."

**A/N:****Yeah, very week chapter and ending. But if you guys want me to write more, I can. Hoped you enjoyed my story. :-)**

**~DamonSalvatoreLuver**


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